Saturday night's quarterfinal matchup featuring #7 seed Shawnee State and the #2 seed, University of Tennessee Southern came down to who wanted it more, and SSU took home the win. Shawnee State's lockdown defense and hustle helped the Bears come up with a 71-61 victory.
The first half opened up with Shawnee State taking a 4-0 lead with layups by Donoven Carlisle and Amier Gilmore. After the initial run, the game became a back-and-forth bout with each team trading baskets. With 11:46 left in the half UTS extended their lead to 16-9 before SSU was able to stop the bleeding and mount their own comeback. Shawnee jumped out with a 9-0 run that ended with a lead-securing three by Miles Thomas at 5:12 to come back 22-19. In the last four minutes of the first half, Shawnee State's defense completely halted any offense from the University of Tennessee Southern and allowed just a single point while scoring nine of their own. The Bears held momentum into the half, leading 31-22.
The second half continued to be a stellar showing from Shawnee State's defense. The Bears ruled the boards and kept their lead throughout the entire half. SSU's offense was able to get their shots to fall at a 60% clip, and they stifled UTS to just 38.5% from the field. Shawnee State limited the University of Tennessee Southern's transition game and pressured their shooters off of the three point line down the stretch. The Bears successfully completed their upset with a 71-61 win.
- Miles Thomas led all scorers with 21 points and also led in assists with 6
- Amier Gilmore secured a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds
- Donoven Carlisle also notched 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds
- The Bears outrebounded the FireHawks 37-24
SSU is back in action, Sunday night (2/27), taking on the #3 seeded Tigers from Georgetown College. The game is scheduled to tip at 8:00 central (9:00 Eastern) in Bowling Green, KY.
ALL TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE
https://www.mid-southconference.org/hometown-ticketing
