SSU MBB gets 28-point, 10-rebound outing from Lovelace, 22-point showing from Beard in 94-90 setback to Indiana-East

RICHMOND, Ind. -- The men's basketball program at Shawnee State got a career-high 28-point outing from Donovan Lovelace, who also added in 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, and got a 22-point showing from talented senior guard Tre Beard en route to shooting 52.4 percent from the floor as a team, but the Bears dropped a 94-90 decision to Indiana-East Wednesday evening in a River States Conference matchup that was held at Lingle Court in Richmond, Ind.

Game Summary

Over the first 6:18 of the contest, Shawnee State (5-10, 0-3 River States Conference) jumped out to a 16-10 advantage as Beard, Lovelace and AJ Belton all produced heavily with Lovelace adding in six points on two low-post buckets and a pair of free throws while Beard and Belton each hit a three-point field goal and connected on shots from inside the line as well to get the Bears off and running.

Indiana-East (8-7, 2-1 River States Conference) rallied back -- but Shawnee State battled to keep the point as the Bears and the Red Wolves combined for eight ties and nine lead changes with both units ultimately battling one another to a 40-all tie with 1:55 to go in the opening half. A half-ending 11-2 run by the Red Wolves, however, gave IU-East a 51-42 advantage at the halftime break -- a mark that was extended to 54-42 when Indiana-East's Trent Johnson banged home a three-ball to begin the second half.

The Red Wolves opened the lead up to a 63-48 margin, but Shawnee State made a key run to get back in the thick of the fight as the Bears went on a 17-7 tear thanks in large part to Cory Gardner, who supplied 10 points during the run, to bring SSU back within five, 70-65.

After Indiana-East bumped the lead back up to 11 points on two separate occasions, the Bears made one final run as SSU, trailing by an 82-71 margin, went on a 12-5 run with Beard hitting a three-pointer with 2:05 to go to put the lead back down to a five-point margin, 88-83, with 2:05 to go. The earlier margins, however, proved to be slightly too much to overcome as Shawnee State ultimately fell in the two possession contest.

Lovelace balls out offensively

A rangy 6-9 sophomore who is full of potential, Donovan Lovelace had the full offensive arsenal on display Wednesday.

Lovelace posted a career performance against Indiana-East behind a ridiculous 20-point first half outing that saw the Dallas, Texas native go 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line in the opening half alone.

Even though his shot didn't drop at the same rate that it did in the opening half, Lovelace still finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a block on 10-of-16 shooting -- grabbing five boards and nabbing both of his assists and his lone block in the second half.

For the season, Lovelace is averaging 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds on 51.5 percent shooting, 42.9 percent three-point shooting and 78.8 percent free throw shooting.

Beard continues scoring at efficient rate

Putting together one of the finest numbers for a guard, offensively, in a single-season in program history to this point, graduate student guard Tre Beard enjoyed another efficient effort Wednesday evening.

Firing on all cylinders in both halves of play, Beard poured in 10 points, two assists and a steal on 3-of-6 shooting from the field (2-of-3 from three-point range) while also going 2-of-2 from the free throw line in the opening half, then added in 12 points, four rebounds and two assists on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, a 2-of-3 mark from three-point range and a 2-of-2 outing from the free throw line in the second half.

Beard ultimately posted 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and a steal on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, a 4-of-6 mark from three-point range and a 4-of-4 mark from the free throw line for the contest. 'The Mayor' raised his averages to 19.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 50.6 percent shooting from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and a 92 percent mark from the free throw line for the 2024-25 season.

Gardner shows off all-conference abilities in official debut

Playing with an obvious chip on his shoulder, graduate student guard Cory Gardner was huge time and again himself, especially in the second half of play.

The senior from Owensboro, Ky., a mid-season transfer after graduating with his bachelor's degree from River States Conference rival Brescia (Ky.), dropped in 16 of his 18 points in the second half of play, going 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Gardner ultimately finished with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor in 23 minutes off of the bench -- all while only turning the ball over once and accumulating a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as a result.

Additional

AJ Belton's nine points, three rebounds and two steals on 4-of-5 shooting, along with Ezra McKee's eight points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, were also major contributing numbers for Shawnee State Wednesday evening.

Shawnee State is scheduled to return to Waller Gymnasium Saturday when the Bears take on Midway (Ky.) in a River States Conference contest in Portsmouth. Game time is set for 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon.