SSU MBB drops 77-73 decision in back-and-forth contest with Warner (Fla.)

LAKE WALES, Fla. -- In a contest where neither team led by more than seven points over the entirety of a 40-minute nonconference matchup, the Shawnee State men's basketball program dropped a scant 77-73 decision to the Warner (Fla.) Royals' men's basketball program during a Wednesday evening bout that was held at Turner Athletic Center in Lake Wales, Fla.

Summary

In the four-point setback, Shawnee State was competitive on all ends of the floor -- as the Bears held Warner (Fla.) to 39.3 percent shooting from the field (22-of-56) and a 28.6 percent mark (6-of-21) from three-point range. The Bears also outrebounded the Royals by a significant margin, claiming a plus-13 edge on the boards (41-28).

Turnovers -- in particular points off of turnovers -- hurt Shawnee State, as the Bears committed 14 turnovers to the Royals' 12. Warner ultimately scored 17 points off of turnovers to SSU's six. From a free throw line standpoint, the Bears went a strong 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe -- but the Royals were able to nearly double Shawnee State's attempts at the free throw line as Warner went 27-of-34 from the line (79.4 percent).

Game Recap

Shawnee State, who battled Warner (Fla.) to 10 ties and 12 lead changes throughout the affair, took its first lead on a Tre Beard three-point bucket with 16:43 to play in the opening half and later took advantages of 9-7, 11-9 and 13-11 on layups by AJ Belton, Ezra McKee and Marcos Vazquez, then took its fifth lead of the opening half on a three-point field goal by West Portsmouth native Jesse Dixon, claiming a 16-14 edge with 11:47 to play in the opening half.

Following another layup by Belton that put SSU up 18-16, Damon Charles answered a Warner three-pointer with two free throws to give Shawnee State a 20-19 lead with 7:56 to play, ultimately kickstarting an 8-2 run that put the Bears up by as much as five (26-21).

When Warner rallied with a 9-3 push to take a 30-29 edge with 1:40 to play, Beard traded three-pointers with Warner's Jamal Norris to keep the contest within a possession heading into Shawnee State's final offensive possession of the opening half. There, Elkin Ramirez was able to get free on a side out and lofted a runner that dropped through the hoop at the halftime buzzer to give the Bears a 34-33 lead heading into the locker room.

In the second half, Beard and Belton -- who each finished with a team-high 16 points, scored six straight points for Shawnee State to begin the second half, and Donovan Lovelace added in a pair of free throws to give the Bears its largest lead of the contest as SSU led 42-36 with 16:41 to go.

Shawnee State maintained a five-point lead (49-44) all the way to the 13:48 mark of the second half, but a 22-10 push by Warner over the next 7:56 put the Bears behind by its largest margin of the contest, 66-59, with 5:52 left.

Despite this, the Bears rallied back -- and cut the Royals' lead to as little as 66-65 with 3:28 to go in the contest, helping keep the game within no more than two possessions the rest of the way. Shawnee State, however, was only able to post two additional field goals over the final 3:28 -- as Warner held on for the triumph.

Beard, who now has 890 points for his Shawnee State career, finished with 16 points and four rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting and a 3-of-8 mark from deep, while Belton added in 16 points and nine rebounds to boot in the low post.

Lovelace (13 rebounds, eight points), Vazquez (nine points, eight rebounds, three assists) and Dixon (nine points, two rebounds, two assists on 4-of-7 shooting) rounded out the main contributors for the Bears.

Additional

Shawnee State (4-7) returns to Waller Gymnasium Monday, Dec. 23 for a 6 p.m. nonconference contest against Lourdes (9-3) in Portsmouth.