Shawnee State held off a huge second half rally from the visiting Quakers of Wilmington (1-3) in a non-conference game to win 60-56. The Bears (5-2, 1-1) led by as many as 15 points with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Quakers made a furious comeback with aggressive defense forcing nine turnovers in the final 14 minutes.
"It was nice to see our guys recover and make winnings plays down the stretch," says Bears Head Coach Jeff Hamilton.
Luckily for Shawnee State, Tyler Morgan (Hammersville, OH) seemed to be at the right place at the right time. With the scored tied at 56 apiece Morgan who finished the game with 11 points and 14 rebounds, followed a missed free throw from Andrew Devlin and scored the go ahead basket with 24 seconds remaining in the game. On the other end, Morgan then grabbed a defensive rebound and was fouled. He made both free-throws and extended the game to four with three seconds remaining.
"Tyler Morgan's offensive rebound and stick back was the key play and to see him come off with the defensive rebound and hit both free-throws was big," said Hamilton.
Junior Ian Nixson (Columbus, OH) also chipped in with 16 points, three assists and three total rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Nixon went 4-5 from beyond the arc and 6-11 total from the field.
"Nixson had an excellent week and it's important to see him shoot with confidence." Coach Hamilton said. "He really played well."
As a team Shawnee State shot 42% from the field going 24-57 while Wilmington shot 37% from the field going 20-53. The Bears made six three-point attempts finishing shooting 46% from beyond the arc. The Quakers shot an impressive 50% from beyond the arc, going 8-15. At the line, Shawnee shot 50%, going 6-12 and Wilmington finished shooting 61%, making all eight of their free-throws in the second half.
Shawnee State will play Campbellsville University (Ky.) on Thursday December 1st at 8:00 pm in a Mid-South Conference showdown.
