Indy 5.9: Ramirez's GW three-pointer with 5.9 left lifts SSU MBB to 84-82 victory over Indiana-Southeast

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- Over the past five games for the Shawnee State's men's basketball program, Elkin Ramirez didn't score.

The graduate student, however, stayed ready and waited for his opportunity while participating within the team concept.

It was staying ready that led to Ramirez hitting the biggest shot of the 2024-25 season for the Shawnee State men's basketball program, and arguably the biggest shot of the Indianapolis, Ind. native's college basketball career.

Following a pair of free throws by Indiana-Southeast's Xavier Price after a turnover on the inbound pass allowed the Grenadiers to rally from a 78-68 deficit with four minutes left to take a 82-81 lead with 31 seconds to play, Shawnee State's winning streak clearly hung in the balance.

Ramirez, however, didn't flinch under pressure.

On Shawnee State's final offensive possession, Tre Beard drove into the middle of the paint and drew enough traffic to open up Ramirez, who stood in front of the Shawnee State bench on the left side with space.

The 6-1 senior wasted no time taking advantage of his opportunity to provide the game-winner -- and drilled the open three-pointer in front of him with 5.9 seconds to play to lead the Bears to a thrilling 84-82 victory over the Indiana-Southeast Grenadiers' basketball program Saturday afternoon, running the program's winning streak to five consecutive games in the process.

Game Summary/Ramirez the Hero

Saturday's River States Conference matchup lived up to the hype of being the RSC Game of the Week as chosen by conference officials -- especially from an offensive standpoint.

Shawnee State (10-10, 5-3 River States Conference), who posted 17 assists on its 28 made baskets, finished with splits of 58.3 percent from the field (28-of-48), 55.6 percent from three-point range (15-of-27), and 13-of-16 from the free throw line (81.3 percent), while Indiana-Southeast (9-10, 4-4 River States Conference) shot 50.8 percent from the floor (30-of-59), 46.2 percent from long distance (6-of-13) and 76.2 percent from the charity stripe (77.2 percent) in a contest that saw eight different players finish in double-figures between both teams.

While the Bears committed 16 turnovers, Shawnee State perservered behind its 17 assists that again led to a highly efficient and highly effective offensive display.

Ramirez's game-winner allowed the Indianapolis, Ind. native to finish with six points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field -- both from three-point range -- in 10 minutes of game action.

Beard cooks

Enjoying one of his best games of the year to date, Shawnee State senior guard Tre Beard was on another level Saturday, even by his lofty standards.

Playing in all 40 minutes of Saturday's contest -- the 12th time in 20 games this season that Beard has achieved that feat -- the senior ripped the cords for 18 points in the opening half alone, going 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range as the shooting dynamo simply couldn't be handled whether it was knocking down open shots off of ball rotation or sizing up an Indiana-Southeast defender and scoring with excellent defensive pressure applied.

With additional pressure on No. 3 in the second half by Indiana-Southeast, Beard proceeded to make sure the Bears got the dub -- finishing with nine points and four assists in the second half.

Incredibly, Beard scored or assisted on 31 of Shawnee State's final 55 points in the game -- ultimately finishing with 27 points and six rebounds for the game as a result.

E-Z makes it look easy

Junior wing Ezra McKee put up his share of buckets Saturday afternoon as the 6-7 forward proved to be a matchup problem for Indiana-Southeast.

McKee also continued playing well off of Beard and fellow new addition Cory Gardner in the process -- as when Beard wasn't hitting threes, McKee was. The junior scored five of Shawnee State's final seven points of the opening half, including a statement dunk on a breakaway with 5:07 left following a steal and a three-point bucket with 3:14 to play in the opening half as part of his 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and a 4-of-6 mark from three-point range in the first half of competition.

McKee ultimately finished with 20 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block on 8-of-12 shooting from the field -- and a 4-of-6 mark from three-point range -- in 33 minutes of game action.

Gardner, Lovelace add in production in contributing roles

Helping the Bears all the way with offensive punch, graduate student guard Cory Gardner and sophomore forward Donovan Lovelace were each tremendous.

Lovelace's aggressiveness offensively led to a 14-point effort where the sophomore went 6-of-6 from the free throw stripe in the second half -- while Gardner posted six rebounds and three assists on 3-of-5 shooting in the opening half, then seven points and four rebounds in the second frame on 2-of-4 shooting and a 3-of-4 mark from the free throw line. Gardner ultimately played all 40 minutes himself, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists on a 5-of-9 mark from the field.

Additional

Amaury Hawes and Marcos Vazquez combined for six assists, six rebounds and four points in their own contributions for Shawnee State in the thrilling contest.

The Bears will take on Saint Mary-of-the-Woods at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT in a critical contest that pits Shawnee State against SMWC in what will be a highly competitive bout in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.