The Shawnee State Bears (10-15, 4-9) revenged a loss earlier in the season to the 8th ranked Georgetown Tigers (19-6, 9-4) and came out 63-59 winners. The Bears took advantage of key missed opportunities from the Tigers and pulled out a close battle in a Mid-South Conference showdown.
The first half consisted of 12 lead changes and no lead bigger than seven in-front of a homecoming crowd. Both teams exchanged baskets throughout the first half as each team struggled to extend any type of lead. Down 8-13 with 14:10 remaining in the first half a layup from Andrew Devlin (Columbus, OH) to pull the Bears within 10-13. A 3-pointer from Anthony Crater (Georgetown) would give the Tigers a 16-10 lead.
However, a quick 3-pointer from Jarred Quinlan (Manchester, OH) would pull the Bears back within three. Georgetown would make back-to-back layups to extend their lead to seven with 9:18 remaining in the half.
Shawnee State would fight back with a layup from Trevor Banks (Fort Pierce, FL) and a 3-pointer from Tyler Boyles (Raceland, KY). With 5:41 Shawnee State Mark Bryant (Milford, OH) hit a jumper and gave the Bears their first lead since the 15:06 mark. The two teams continued to exchange leads before Shawnee State eventually went into halftime leading 28-25.
A 3-pointer from Boyles started the Bears second half and quickly gave Shawnee State a 31-25 lead. A steal from Boyles on the other end and then a jumper from Tyler Morgan (Hammersville, OH) gave the Bears their largest lead of the game of eight.
The Tigers however hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Bear lead to two with 17:30 remaining. Shawnee State again pulled out an eight point lead with 10:52 left after a jumper from Jeremy Bennington (Blue Creek, OH), giving them a 46-38 advantage.
The Tigers would not back down going on a 6-0 run to pull within three. Bennington's 3-pointer with 4:29 gave Shawnee State a 51-44 lead. On the other end a steal from Morgan gave the ball back to the Bears. Bennington faked a 3-pointer then spun out of the way of contact and drove inside, only to find a wide open Austin Vance (Lenore, WV) cutting to the basket for two points with 3:55 left.
The play gave Shawnee State a 53-44 advantage but Georgetown got plenty of opportunities at the free throw line earning six free throws in a matter of 28 seconds. The Tigers however only capitalized on 2 of 6 cutting the lead to only 55-49.
After a few key turnovers from the Bears, the Tigers got a dunk and a corner 3-pointer cutting the lead to four with 43.8 seconds remaining. Georgetown then hit another 3-pointer with 31 seconds to pull within 59-57 after Morgan split a pair of free throws. With 10 seconds remaining Morgan got another chance at the free throw line making both and sealing the victory for Shawnee State.
Four Bears scored in double figures as Morgan lead the way with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Boyles who went 5-9 from the field scored 12 points, two rebounds and added three steals. Bryant chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds and a steal while Banks also scored 10 points off the bench.
For the game, Shawnee State shot 46 percent from the field while Georgetown went 21-49. From beyond the arc the Tigers outshot the Bears going 8-20 while the Bears shot 36 percent making only five. Shawnee State did make 14 free throws to only nine for the Tigers. The Bears did an excellent job pressuring the Tigers and forced 17 turnovers and had seven total steals.
Shawnee State will play 12th ranked Lindsey Wilson on Feb. 16. The Bears will try to do what they did tonight and revenge another loss from earlier in the season against the Blue Raiders.
