Rio Grande, Ohio – Shawnee State men's basketball were victorious in the Bevo Francis Invitational Tournament on Saturday evening, defeating hosts Rio Grande 71-64.
The Bears and Red Storm played close throughout the game, with the two teams trading baskets and leads early and often. The Bears would take a 26-24 lead through a Jacob Daniels (SR/Peebles, Ohio) basket with 4:49 remaining, and despite Rio Grande hanging close would never trail again.
The Bears got out to a quick nine point lead in the second half, but would once again not be able to quite pull away from the Red Storm. Shawnee State led by 10 points with 11:29 remaining, their largest lead of the game, but would not lead by double digits again. The Bears would sweat out the final minute as Rio Grande would cut the lead to 66-64, but SSU would not allow another basket, and hit free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
Jacob Daniels scored a game-high 19 points to lead Shawnee State. Tamal Watkins (FR/Columbus, Ohio) would add 15 points, and Jayllen Carter (JR/Portsmouth, Ohio) had 12. Shawnee State won the game at the free throw line, making 19 free throws compared to 10 for Rio Grande.
URG's Corey Cruse had 13 points to lead the Red Storm. Greg Wallace had 11 and Kaileb Sheets chipped in 10.
With the win, Shawnee State improves to 5-3 on the season. Rio Grande falls to 2-4. The Bears snapped a three game losing streak to the Red Storm, losing both games last season. The win is SSU's first against Rio Grande since 2014.
Shawnee State are next in action on Saturday, November 26th when they kick off Mid-South Conference play at Pikeville. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00pm.
