Bears give (RV) Pomeroys top run in 77-70 setback

SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, IND. -- The men's basketball program at Shawnee State got an efficient outing from Ezra McKee -- who dropped in 21 points on just 11 shot attempts -- and put four players in double-figures overall in another balanced scoring performance to give the River States Conference's best unit in terms of record, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, top run, but the Bears fell to the Pomeroys, 77-70, at the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. Thursday evening in a RSC matchup.

Game Summary

Both units competed on the defensive end of the floor -- as Shawnee State held Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to a respectable 28-of-61 shooting from the floor (45.9 percent) while the Bears fought to connect on 23 of its 56 shots (41.1 percent) from the field in a physical battle between the two well-respected programs. Both units tallied 13 assists each.

Shawnee State (10-11, 5-4 River States Conference) capitalized on its opportunities from the free throw line -- canning 19 of its 22 free throws en route to connecting at an 86.4 percent clip compared to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods' 14-of-20 mark (70 percent) from the charity stripe, but the Pomeroys (18-3, 8-1 River States Conference) were able to control the glass, building a 40-32 halftime lead by outrebounding SSU 22-13 in the first half of competition before the Bears cut the rebounding deficit to a 38-32 mark at game's end.

McKee continues oozing potential

Playing aggressive from the opening tip, Shawnee State junior forward Ezra McKee wasted no time making an impact.

By the 9:41 mark of the first half, McKee had already tallied six points and four rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting, keeping the Bears within one to two possessions over much of the opening half as McKee went on to post 10 points, five rebounds and a block on 5-of-8 shooting in the opening half of competition.

Shawnee State spent the early portion of the second half trailing by nine or 10 points over the opening five minutes of play, but McKee knocked down an early second half three and a free throw to help keep the deficit manageable, then teamed with AJ Belton to score 14 straight points for Shawnee State, with McKee going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe over a four-minute stretch to give Shawnee State leads of 52-50, 54-52 and 56-55 with 11, 10 and seven minutes to play in the game.

McKee ultimately finished Thursday's outing with 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists on 7-of-11 shooting and a 6-of-9 mark from the free throw line -- leading the Bears in points and rebounds and tying with Amaury Hawes for second on the squad in assists.

Additional

Belton, who scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, posted seven of those tallies during an 11-0 Shawnee State run over a span of 3:35 that gave the Bears a 52-50 lead with 11:09 to play in the contest.

Tre Beard added in 14 points (6-of-6 from free throw line) while Donovan Lovelace added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to round out the double-figure scorers.

Cory Gardner, Marcos Vazquez and Amaury Hawes combined for 11 points and eight assists to round out Shawnee State's effort.

Shawnee State will turn its attention to a 1 p.m. tip against Indiana-Kokomo at the Student Activities and Events Center in Kokomo, Ind. Saturday afternoon.