Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State men's basketball kick off the 2018-19 season on Wednesday night, traveling to Circleville, Ohio to take on Ohio Christian.
2017-18 In Review
SSU went 14-17 last season, a five-win improvement from a 9-19 finish in 2016-17. SSU went 4-10 in the Mid-South Conference, finishing tied for seventh place with Cumberland (Tenn.). The Bears fell in the first round of the Mid-South Conference Tournament, losing a close game to Pikeville 92-89.
The Bears lost a trio of seniors who led the team in 2017-18. Leading scorer Frederick Moore graduated, having scored 15.3 points per game and leading the team with 7.7 rebounds per game. Jayllen Carter is also gone after scoring 15.1 points per game. Matt Rhodes, who was eligible for the second semester, also departs after averaging 11.7 points per game in 17 games, including shooting 61.0% from three. Moore and Carter were named second team All-Mid-South Conference for their performances.
Key Returners
#2 Tamal Watkins (JR/Columbus, Ohio), Wing, Jr. – Watkins moves from point guard to wing for the 2018-19 season. The junior averaged 9.8 points per game and 3.1 assists per game in 2017-18.
#30 EJ Onu (SO/Cleveland, Ohio), F, So. – SSU's big man broke the single game blocks record against Cumberland with 11, on his way to also breaking the single season blocks record with 103. Onu averaged 9.4 points per game last season and was the only Bear to start in all 30 games.
#21 Justin Johnson (JR/Cincinnati, Ohio), F, Jr. – Johnson started in 19 games last year, averaging 7.9 points per game.
#10 Gavin Brown (SO/Carroll, Ohio), Wing, So. – Brown averaged 3.4 points per game last season in 11 minutes per game. He shot 20-55 from three.
#23 Selby Hind-Wills (JR/Crawley, England), F, Jr. – The England international averaged 3.0 points per game off the bench, despite missing parts of the season due to injury.
2018-19 Newcomers
#12 Gio Jackson (JR/Federal Way, Washington), PG, Jr. – Shawnee State brings in the transfer from Everett Community College after an outstanding sophomore season in the Northwest Athletic Conference. Jackson won NAC Player of the Year after averaging 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists per game.
#22 Michael Hubbert (FR/Tampa, Florida), PG, Fr. – SSU's revamped point guard position also includes Hubbert, who comes to Shawnee State from Tampa, Florida via Greenup County High School. Hubbert scored over 1000 points at Greenup, and was All-Region 16 in 2016-17.
#11 Austin Crawford (SO/Brooksville, Kentucky), Wing, So. – One of two NCAA Division I transfers, Austin Crawford is the all-time leading scorer at Bracken County High School with over 3000 points.
#3 Chris Byrd (JR/Columbus, Ohio), Wing, Jr. – Byrd is a transfer from Columbus State College. He was first team All-Ohio Community College Athletic Conference, and was honorable mention to the Great Lakes All-Region and NJCAA All-American teams.
#25 Tim Biakapia (JR/Germantown, Maryland), Wing, Jr. – Biakapia played at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College for two years. He averaged 21.9 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game his final year at PHCC, earning NJCAA All-American honorable mention honors.
#15 Juwan Grant (SR/Baltimore, Maryland), F, Gr. – Grant is a graduate transfer from Savannah State. He helped Baltimore City College High School to a state championship in 2014, and averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per game at Howard Community College.
Preseason Poll
Shawnee State were picked to finish eighth in the Mid-South Conference in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bears finished tied for seventh in 2017-18. SSU finished with 10 points in the poll, one behind Cumberland for seventh.
2018-19 Schedule Highlights
Nov. 9 – vs. Goshen (Ind.) – 7:30pm
Shawnee State plays their home opener on Friday, November 9 against Goshen. The Maple Leafs went 11-19 last season, finishing 10th in the Crossroads League.
Nov. 13 – at Kent State (Ohio) – 7:00pm
Shawnee State travels north on Tuesday, November 13 when they take on Kent State. The Bears will count the game as an exhibition. The Golden Flashes went 17-17 last season, finishing second in the east division of the Mid-American Conference.
Nov. 16 – vs. Ohio Dominican – 5:30pm
Shawnee State renews an old American Mideast Conference rivalry on Friday, November 16 when they take on Ohio Dominican in day one of the Don Callan Classic at Cedarville. ODU went 20-11 last season, finishing tied for fourth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Nov. 17 – at Cedarville (Ohio) – 7:45pm
One day later, Shawnee State renews another long-standing series, playing Cedarville in day two of the Don Callan Classic. The Yellow Jackets went 13-14 last season and finished in ninth in the G-MAC.
Nov. 24 – at No. 2 William Penn (Iowa) – 3:00pm
SSU plays their first game against a team in the NAIA Top 25 on Saturday, November 24 at William Penn. The Statesmen finished in first place in the north division of the Heart of America Athletic Conference last season.
Jan. 5 – vs. Pikeville (Ky.) – 4:00pm
Shawnee State's Mid-South Conference opener is on Saturday, January 5 when the Bears host Pikeville at Waller Gymnasium. The defending Mid-South Conference regular season champions went 28-5 last season, taking a season sweep of the Bears.
Feb. 9 – vs. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) – 4:00pm – Hall of Fame Weekend
Join Shawnee State men's basketball in celebrating Hall of Fame Weekend on Saturday, February 9 when they Bears take on Lindsey Wilson in the annual Hall of Fame Game. Shawnee State will be honoring former men's basketball player Tyler Morgan for his induction into the SSU Athletics Hall of Fame that weekend.
Feb. 23 – vs. Georgetown (Ky.) – 4:00pm – Senior Day
Shawnee State ends the regular season on Saturday, February 23 when they host Georgetown for Senior Day. SSU will honor graduate senior Juwan Grant that day, taking on the Tigers. Georgetown went 27-7 last season, but fell to SSU in Portsmouth for the second year in a row.
Ohio Christian Preview
SSU takes on Ohio Christian on Wednesday at 7:00pm.
The Trailblazers have already started their season, and are 1-1 so far in 2018-19. OCU defeated Wright State-Lake (Ohio) in overtime 97-96 in their opener on October 24. Ohio Christian then lost to Marian (Ind.) 110-75 on Saturday.
SSU leads the all-time series against Ohio Christian 7-1. The Bears defeated OCU in Portsmouth last season, winning 69-55.
Game Notes
