After a sluggish first half, the Shawnee State Men's Basketball Team came out strong in the second to defeat the University of Virginia at Lynchburg 81-62 on Thursday evening.

Trailing at the half, junior Ian Nixson scored on a layup on the Bears' first possession of the second half and Shawnee never trailed the remainder of the game. The junior brigade of Nixson, Tyler Morgan, Tyler Boyles and Mark Bryant led the Bears as each player scored double figures in the win.

"It was a good first game back," said Head Coach Jeff Hamilton. "The first half we played like we had been off for 2 weeks, but we regrouped in the second half and did a very good job attacking the zone. Offensively, we had good ball movement and found the open guy."

Shawnee State travels to UNC-Pembroke today for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff against the Braves.