Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State men's basketball threw a wrench in the Mid-South Conference race on Saturday afternoon as the Bears upset (18) Cumberlands (Ky.) 53-51 for Hall of Fame Weekend.
The first half would quickly grind into a defensive struggle, with Shawnee State getting the better end of things early. Justin Johnson (SO/Cincinnati, Ohio) would open the scoring at the 18:58 mark, sparking a 7-0 SSU run to begin the game, capped by a three from Jayllen Carter (SR/Portsmouth, Ohio). Frederick Moore (SR/Cincinnati, Ohio) would push that lead back out to seven after a pair of UC free throws, and the Bears would lead 9-2 at the first media timeout.
From there, the game would be a struggle for both offenses. EJ Onu (FR/Cleveland, Ohio) would thrive, picking up four blocks in the first half and holding Cumberlands' Malik Colvin-Seldon to two points in the half. Shawnee State would hold Cumberlands away for the rest of the half, with Tamal Watkins (SO/Columbus, Ohio)' late first half three pushing SSU to a 24-16 lead. Eric Duncan would answer late to cut that lead to 24-18 lead by halftime.
Cumberlands would come out swinging in the second half, using a 10-2 run to take a 28-26 lead with 14:31 to go. Chance Morton would make that lead three with 13:28 to go, but that would be the most Cumberlands would lead by the whole afternoon. Carter would hit a lay-in with 10:35 to go to give SSU the lead back at 35-34. Malik Colvin-Seldon would answer on Cumberlands' next possession, but EJ Onu would clean up on the glass to give Shawnee State a 37-36 lead. Again, Cumberlands would respond as Bernard Samuel and Chance Morton would both split free throws to give the Patriots a 38-37 lead.
Frederick Moore would hit a pair of free throws to give Shawnee State lead another one point lead at 39-38 with 6:52 to go. Malik Colvin-Seldon would again respond for Cumberlands, giving them back the lead at 40-39. Seldon would then block Moore on the other end, and a hustle play on the other end would give Cumberlands the ball after a timeout. On the ensuing possession, and with the game in the balance, EJ Onu would come up with the biggest of his six blocks, swatting away a Chance Morton attempt to both keep Shawnee State in the game and break DeLano Thomas' record for most blocks in a single season with his 77th of the season. Onu's block would then directly translate to a lead as Moore would hit on the other end to give the Bears back the lead at 41-40.
That lead would stand for the rest of the contest as the Bears used the block to catch fire. Matt Rhodes (SR/Westerville, Ohio) would hit a tough jumper, then score on the next SSU possession on a runner. Tamal Watkins would then hit a three on the next SSU possession to run the lead to 9-0 and give SSU a 48-40 lead. Cumberlands would whittle away at the lead over the next four minutes, with Colvin-Seldon's basket with 42 seconds to go cutting the Bears' lead to 53-51. After a miss by Moore on the ensuing Shawnee State possession, Cumberlands would have the ball with 10 seconds to either tie or win. However, Bernard Samuel's contested three point attempt would fall short as time expired and Shawnee State would celebrate a win over the 18th-ranked Patriots.
Tamal Watkins led all scorers with 20 points on the afternoon. Frederick Moore chipped in with 10 points.
Malik Colvin-Seldon scored 16 points to lead Cumberlands. Chance Morton added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Eric Duncan also added 10.
The win improves Shawnee State to 11-11 on the year and 2-5 in the Mid-South Conference. Cumberlands falls to 16-5 and 4-3 in the league. The win moves Shawnee State out of last place in the league, while Cumberlands falls out of the first place tie into a tie for second. Cumberlands still leads the all-time series 12-3.
Shawnee State men's basketball return to action on Tuesday, January 30 when they take on old rivals Rio Grande in the home leg of this season's home-and-home. Tip-off at Waller Gymnasium is set for 8:00pm.
