LIMA, Ohio -- The men's basketball program at Shawnee State rallied back from a 13-point halftime deficit and a margin of as large as 24 points with 13 minutes to play in the second half of competition to cut the Northwestern Ohio Racers' men's basketball program's lead to as little as 95-87 with 1:31 remaining, but simply ran out of time in a valiant comeback that ended in a 103-95 setback for Shawnee State Tuesday evening in a nonconference contest that was held at The Garage in Lima, Ohio.
Breaking down the box score
The contest was the definition of a track meet -- as both teams showcased strong shooting efficiencies in essentially every area of the game. SSU shot exactly 50 percent from the field (32-of-64) while going 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from distance and 21-of-25 from the free throw line (84 percent) while UNOH went 40-of-70 (57.1 percent) from the field, 8-of-17 (41.7 percent) from three and 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
In coming back from a double-digit deficit, Shawnee State showcased various positives, finishing with two less turnovers than Northwestern Ohio, posting 17 assists on its 32 made buckets which was more than the Racers' 12 assists on their 40 makes from the floor, and posting 23 points off of UNOH turnovers as opposed to giving up 19 in that area by also nabbing 10 steals compared to seven for UNOH.
However, the Bears -- as with most teams playing in a season-opener -- also had areas of the box score that SSU will have to work on, as the Bears were outrebounded by a slim plus-four margin (36-32) and gave up 14 second-chance points while getting nine themselves. Shawnee State also gave up 58 points in the paint.
Saia, Lovelace start hot
Two new additions to the program that immediately earned starting spots in Tuesday's season opener, 6-6 freshman wing Preston Saia and 6-9 sophomore forward Donovan Lovelace both started Tuesday's contest in a strong manner.
Saia, a deft three-point shooter who shot above 47 percent from beyond the arc in his final season of high school basketball, canned two early treys and converted a layup to post eight of Shawnee State's first 15 points, while Lovelace added in seven points over the contest's first 6:48 as the duo helped SSU take a 23-18 first half lead.
Saia ultimately finished with 13 points in his collegiate debut while shooting 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from downtown.
Beard, Hood, Lovelace, Vazquez help SSU rally
Down by a 72-49 margin with 13:25 to play, Markell Hood -- another big newcomer to the SSU lineup -- scored seven of his nine points in a span of 2:17 to help close SSU's deficit down to a 76-60 mark.
From there, Lovelace, Beard and Vazquez proved to be huge.
Lovelace's 6-9 frame, which give UNOH fits at times on both ends, and the crafty ballhanding and shooting of Beard and Vazquez led to SSU getting 28 straight points from the trio as all three players played well off of one another. A pull-up jumper by Beard at the free throw line and a subsequent steal and breakaway two-handed punch by Lovelace closed the UNOH lead to as little as eight (99-91) for the second time in less than a minute span -- but the Bears came no closer than that margin.
For the contest, Beard, who played all 40 minutes Tuesday evening, filled up the stat sheet by posting 26 points, six rebounds and five assists on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, while also grabbing six rebounds and posting five assists to boot. Of the senior's 26 points, 18 of them came in the second half.
Lovelace posted 13 points in the second half and 11 in the opening 20 minutes while adding in a team-high seven rebounds to go along with three assists. The sophomore, who posted his new career-high point total as a collegiate basketball player Tuesday evening, also went 8-of-10 from the field and the free throw line.
Vazquez scored all 14 of his points in the final 20 minutes of play, going 6-of-13 from the floor while posting a team-high six assists and adding in five rebounds.
Additional
Shawnee State (0-1) will be back in action next Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Simmons (Ky.) in what will be the Bears' home opener at Waller Gymnasium. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
