The men's basketball program at Shawnee State University used a well-balanced attack to put five players in double-figures on the evening, with Justin Johnson's 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, along with a 13-point, 13-rebound effort by Selby Hind-Wills and double-figure outputs by Kyree Elder, Tim Biakapia, and Kobie Johnson, leading the Bears to a relatively smooth 96-56 victory over the University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Friday evening at the Paradise Jam Arena in Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands as part of the University of the Virgin Islands Classic.
Shawnee State, who never trailed in its 40-point blowout of UPR-Bayamon, proved to be stout defensively as the Bears forced 24 turnovers while holding the Vaqueros to just seven assists for the contest. Of the 24 turnovers that the Bears forced on the evening, 16 of them were steals, which allowed SSU to get out in transition often in the season-opening victory. Shawnee State also was able to put all 12 of its players in the scoring column in the contest.
In addition to limiting Puerto Rico-Bayamon's offensive output, Shawnee State used its size advantage effectively as the Bears outrebounded the Vaqueros by a massive 67-38 margin, which allowed the Bears to overcome a 29-of-77 shooting mark (37.7 percent from the field) en route to obtaining the 40-point victory. SSU shot 9-of-28 from beyond the arc (32.1 percent) and posted a strong 29-of-38 mark from the free throw line (76.3 percent) as a unit, all while holding the Vaqueros to a 17-of-61 showing from the floor (27.9 percent) and a 3-of-18 shooting performance from distance (16.7 percent). As a result, Jeremy Rosado was the only Puerto Rico-Bayamon player to obtain double-figures in the contest (12).
Johnson, who is entering his third season in the main SSU rotation in as many years on campus, added in four rebounds and tied three additional Bears for the team lead in steals with three in his 22 minutes on the floor.
Jakiel Wells, Desmond Crosby, Jr., and D'Andre Price, who were all playing in their first bouts in a Shawnee State uniform, also collected three swipes apiece. Wells, who got the start and is the lone true freshman in the main rotation, posted a solid all-around statline by collecting four points, eight rebounds, the aforementioned three steals, and a block while only committing two turnovers in 23 minutes of action. The Toledo, Ohio native garnered a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio as a result.
Elder, who also started in his first official contest as a Bear, and Kobie Johnson, who joined the quartet before him by seeing his first official game action at SSU, added in their own impressive statlines. Elder, a senior from Antioch, Tenn., posted 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and tied Wells for the team-lead with four assists in a game-high 28 minutes while going 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the contest. Johnson, meanwhile, posted 10 points on an efficient six shots (3-of-6 from the field) and, like Elder, hit three of his four attempts from the charity stripe.
Hind-Wills and Biakapia, who are returning lettermen like Justin Johnson, each added 13 points on their own accord in the contest. Biakapia, a utility knife on the basketball court, posted 13 points and nine rebounds on 4-of-11 shooting from the field while Hind-Wills, who posted a game-high seven offensive rebounds, nearly matched Puerto-Rico Bayamon's entire offensive rebounding output (10) on his own. The senior from Crawley, England also shot a strong 9-of-12 from the free throw line as his hustling nature resulted in his double-double output -- and a tie for his career high in total rebounds.
EJ Onu, the fourth and final returning letterman, used his stature to give Bayamon's frontline trouble as the junior collected nine points, seven rebounds, and four blocks on the contest. With his four blocks, Onu became the first player in Shawnee State history to ever record more than 200 blocks for a career as Onu now stands with 201 denials with essentially two seasons to play at SSU.
With the victory, Shawnee State moves to 1-0 ahead of its second matchup at the University of the Virgin Islands Classic against Maine-Fort Kent. The Bears will play the Bengals at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday evening in Charlotte Amalie.
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