PORTSMOUTH – Men's basketball dropped a hard-fought 68-62 contest at home against No. 14 St. Catharine Saturday afternoon inside Waller Gymnasium. The Bears (8-10, 2-5 MSC) led at the half and were within two points with 15 seconds to play in regulation but the Patriots (11-6, 5-3 MSC) would hit their free throws in the final seconds to stave off a late Shawnee State comeback bid.
Trevor Banks finished with a game-high 23 points for the Bears as he went 7-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He also knocked down his only four free throws on the afternoon. Andrew Bendolph added 10 points to Bears offense. The Patriots starters combined for 50 of the team's 69 points. However, with four starters that scored at least nine points, including a team-high 20 points from Omar Skinner, it was just enough offense to hold SSU off in the final seconds.
Shawnee State got off to a scorching start as the Bears scored the first 11 points of the game in just 3:24 of playing time. This opening stretch included a pair of threes and two free throws from Banks with another three from Mark Bryant. St. Catharine would score its first points of the contest with 4:02 of playing time gone by. However, the Bears would end up holding their biggest lead of the half at the 12:34 mark when another three from Banks put SSU up 18-5.
The nationally-ranked Patriots began to find their footing shortly after that 13-point lead from the Bears. As hot as the Bears were to start, they went equally as cold over the next 6:18 as they were unable to record a point. St. Catharine would get their deficit down to one point before a basket from Dante Dunston broke the cold spell to give the Bears a 20-17 edge with 6:12 left in the opening half.
The Patriots tied the game for the first time at 26-all with 1:23 left in the first half. However, Shawnee State got two points from Ethan Moffatt and a fourth three from Banks, who was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the opening half, to maintain a 31-26 lead at the break. Banks would finish the first half with 16 points.
St. Catharine tied the game for the second time at 33-all with 15:34 left in regulation. This time, the Patriots were able to force a turnover on the defensive end via a steal and turn that into points in the paint, giving the Patriots their first lead of the game. The lead would change hands four times over the next 10 minutes of play but neither side would hold a lead of more than four during that stretch.
The first time that St. Catharine held a lead of five, Andrew Devlin answered with two points in the paint to bring SSU's deficit back to three points. St. Catharine would follow suit by scoring baskets in the paint on its next three possessions to take its largest lead of the game, 58-49, with 3:30 left on the clock.
Trailing by eight (61-53) and just 2:24 to play, Bendolph got the foul line on the Bears next possession and cut the deficit to six. After a defensive stop from Shawnee State, Banks stroked his fifth and final three of the evening to get the Bears within three, 61-58.
The Patriots got the lead back to five two times in the next minute. After a St. Catharine free throw made it 64-59, with 35 seconds to play. The Bears would eventually end of getting the deficit down to just two points with 15 seconds on the clock after a pair of free throws from Devlin but St. Catharine will hit its final four free throws in the remaining seconds with the Bears in a must foul situation.
Men's basketball shot 37-percent from the field compared to slightly over 35-percent from St. Catharine. However, the Patriots forced 23 turnovers from the Bears, including 15 steals to limit SSU to 16 fewer shots from the field.
Men's basketball will be back on the road next Thursday when it travels to Bluefield for an 8 p.m. game. Next Saturday, the Bears will play their last MSC team that have yet to face when they travel to Pikeville for a 4 p.m. tip.
