Beard's 24, Gardner's double-double, McKee's go-ahead bucket leads SSU men in 76-71 come-from-behind win over Midway (Ky.)

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Within his first two seasons at the helm, the Shawnee State men's basketball program has put together comebacks -- including last year's home win against top-five ranked Georgetown and its late rallies over Indiana-South Bend -- that many will remember.

Shawnee State added another one to its growing bag of comebacks under Hunter Sunday evening -- as the Bears, down 50-35 with 15:59 remaining, went on a 41-21 tear to end the game with Tre Beard scoring five consecutive points to give the Bears leads of 68-67 and 70-69, then finding Ezra McKee for what ended up being the game-winning bucket with 47 seconds left on the right side of the floor en route to a 76-71 triumph over the Midway (Ky.) Eagles' basketball program Sunday afternoon at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.

Game Summary

The gritty comeback by the Bears halted a three-game skid in its tracks Sunday -- and moved the Shawnee State men's basketball program to 5-4 in contests decided by single-digits during the 2024-25 season -- as Shawnee State used an efficient floor game to oust Midway in the contest.

Shawnee State (6-10, 1-3 River States Conference) shot 28-of-61 from the field (45.9 percent) and went 6-of-15 from the three-point line (40 percent), slightly outgunning Midway's 27-of-60 mark (45 percent) and a 7-of-22 outing from three-point range (31.8 percent). The Bears also posted 12 assists on its 28 made baskets, edging Midway's 10 assists over its 27 makes, and outrebounded the Eagles (4-8, 1-3 River States Conference) by a plus-eight margin (35-27) on the glass.

Gardner keeps Shawnee State within striking distance in opening half

Showcasing his 2023-24 All-RSC form in Sunday afternoon's victory, Cory Gardner's first half outing proved to be critical in keeping Shawnee State within striking distance.

Gardner, who made his first official start with Shawnee State, finished at a high level in traffic as the graduate student from Owensboro, Ky. used his slick driving abilities to get to the rack for eight points over the final 5:44 of the opening half to keep the contest reasonably close, going 4-of-8 from the field while adding in four rebounds and two steals to keep Midway from expanding its lead larger than the 40-29 halftime deficit that Shawnee State ultimately faced after the opening half.

While Gardner's shot didn't fall at the same rate in the second half, the 6-0 guard did what has defined his college career to this point -- and found other ways to make an impact. Gardner ultimately finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five huge steals on 6-of-14 shooting while going 3-of-3 from the free throw line to boot.

Gardner is averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 56.5 percent shooting through his first two contests with the Bears.

We Believe In 3

Effective face guarding tactics by Midway limited Shawnee State graduate student Tre Beard to four first-half points -- but the senior made the Eagles pay in a big way in the second half of action.

Continuing to play at simply another level throughout, Beard dropped in 20 of his 24 points in the final 20 minutes of play -- all while going a ridiculous 7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range and a 3-of-3 mark from the free throw line in the second half.

During that stretch, Beard went 3-of-4 from three-point range over from the 15:40 to the 6:01 marks of the second half as part of a massive 28-14 run that whittled the Midway lead down to just 64-63 with 6:01 remaining.

The veteran guard then willed Shawnee State past Midway over the game's final 2:44, finishing through contact and converting the and-one opportunity to put the Bears ahead by a 68-67 margin, then answering two Decorieio Smith free throws with another bucket inside to put SSU back ahead, 70-69, with 2:12 to play in the game.

Smith answered back with a layup of his own with 1:39 to go, but Beard didn't relent. Following a missed opportunity that would've put the Eagles ahead by three, Beard -- who was just three points back of 1,000 and had an opportunity to pull up from a longer distance -- made a heady and unselfish play as the veteran operated on the right side and rifled a pass to a hard-cutting McKee, who scored with 47 seconds left on a one-handed floater to give Shawnee State a 72-71 lead. The Bears never trailed again from there.

Beard ultimately finished with 24 points, five rebounds, three assists and a block on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, a 3-of-4 mark from three-point range and a 5-of-5 mark from the free throw line to help will Shawnee State to the victory. The point total that the scoring dynamo needs to hit 1,000 is, fittingly, the same as his jersey number -- three.

Additional

In addition to Beard and Gardner, Shawnee State also got 14 points and five rebounds on 6-of-14 shooting from McKee -- who came up large with nine points and four rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting in the second half alone, including the game-winning bucket. McKee's 14 tallies, along with Marcos Vazquez's eight points, four assists and three rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting, allowed Shawnee State to outscore Midway (Ky.) 22-16 in terms of bench points.

AJ Belton was big as a rim protector with nine points, six rebounds and three blocks on 3-of-4 shooting while Donovan Lovelace's six points, four rebounds and a block rounded out the Bears' main producers in Sunday's win.

Shawnee State returns to action in less than 48 hours as the men's basketball program will turn around and face Alice Lloyd (Ky.) in what will be a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.