Grayson, Ky. – Shawnee State men's basketball led by as many as 20 points in the first half, but a second half rally would see them fall to Grace Christian (Mich.) 87-80 on Friday night in day two of the Super 8 Classic.
The Bears got off to a hot start to build an early lead. Austin Jackson hit to open the scoring for the Tigers, but Tim Biakapia (JR/Germantown, Maryland) would tie the game up with a lay-in and begin a 14-0 run to see the Bears go up 14-2. SSU would continue to build their first half lead, until a three by Chris Byrd (JR/Columbus, Ohio) with 4:37 to halftime gave the Bears a 35-15 lead.
Grace Christian would cut the deficit by halftime. Brandon Winchester-Jones hit a three, and Jackson would get a lay-in to cut the lead to 15. EJ Onu (SO/Cleveland, Ohio) would hit another shot in the paint to push the lead back out to 17, but a 9-0 run to end the half for the Tigers, with Jackson hitting the final shot with 31 seconds to go, cutting the lead to 37-29 at halftime.
The second half would see Grace Christian pick right back up where they left off. The Tigers chipped away at the lead early in the half and would tie the game with 13 minutes to go, with Adam Kregel's three tying the game at 54-54. Tamal Watkins (JR/Columbus, Ohio) got a reverse lay-in to go to give the Bears back the lead, but again Grace Christian would rally back, with Jackson tying the game back up at 58-58. Kregel then hit another three to put the Tigers into the lead at 61-58 with 10:05 to go.
The two teams would play close for the next three minutes, and Watkins would again make a shot to give the Bears back the lead at 68-67. However, Jackson again stepped up for Grace Christian, making another bucket to give the Tigers back the lead for good. GCU built the lead out to 81-74, and would hit free throws down the stretch to win 87-80 over Shawnee State.
Shawnee State shot 46.9% from the field, going 30-64 on the night. The Bears shot 29.6% from three, but allowed Grace Christian to shoot 52.0% from three, including 10-13 from three in the second half. SSU outrebounded Grace Christian 38-36, but committed 19 turnovers to 10.
Tamal Watkins had 24 points to lead Shawnee State. Gavin Brown (SO/Carroll, Ohio) had 17 points, while Tim Biakapia added 13.
Austin Jackson had 18 points to lead Grace Christian. Adam Kregel added 16, while Brandon Winchester-Jones, Grant Garrison and Marcus Chandler each had 11 for the Tigers.
The loss drops Shawnee State to 5-4 on the season. Grace Christian improves to 9-4 on the year.
Shawnee State men's basketball plays on day three of the Super 8 Classic on Saturday, December 1 when they take on Kentucky Christian. Tipoff at the Lusby Center is set for 4:00pm.
