EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The men's basketball program at Shawnee State put 10 different players in the scoring column and got a 12-point, seven-rebound, one-block statline from 6-9 sophomore Donovan Lovelace to lead the charge, but Shawnee State fell to NCAA Division I Southern Indiana, 91-56, Sunday afternoon at Liberty Arena in Evansville, Ind.
The Rundown from end-to-end
Shawnee State started the contest off in a strong fashion as the Bears took off on a 9-2 run over the contest's first 2:34, with AJ Belton scoring within the contest's first 15 seconds on a drive and layup and Lovelace, along with Elkin Ramirez, canning back-to-back three-pointers in a span of under 40 seconds to help push the Shawnee State lead to a seven-point margin.
While Southern Indiana rallied with a 12-0 run to take a 14-9 advantage with 11:33 to play in the opening half, Shawnee State hung around behind the play of senior newcomer Cory Gardner.
A seasoned veteran in the River States Conference ranks, Gardner played a role akin to former NBA standout Vinnie Johnson for SSU throughout much of the opening half, dropping each of his nine points in the opening half of play over an eight-minute span as SSU stayed within three possessions of the lead all the way to the 3:35 mark of the first half, where the Bears trailed the Screaming Eagles 31-22. A 9-3 spurt to close the first half by Southern Indiana put Shawnee State behind by a 40-25 margin at the break, and Shawnee State couldn't close the margin any lower than the 15 points that the Bears trailed by from then on.
Lovelace ultimately went 5-of-9 from the floor to finish with his 12 points, seven rebounds and a block while Gardner posted nine points, a block and a steal while going 4-of-7 from the field. Belton, who also finished with nine points, nabbed three rebounds and two assists while not committing a single turnover Sunday afternoon.
Dayton native and 6-1 freshman guard Amaury Hawes added in seven points off of the bench while going 3-of-6 from the floor. Hawes, Gardner and freshman guard Preston Saia combined to nab 21 of Shawnee State's 27 bench points in the contest.
Shawnee State ultimately posted 10 assists on its 23 made buckets in Sunday's exhibition.
Southern Indiana was led by 6-8 sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi, who posted 18 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals as well as 6-5 junior guard Damoni Harrison, who added in 17 points, five rebounds and a block. Shawnee State did hold 6-5 junior guard Jayland Randall, who was Southern Indiana's leading scorer coming into Sunday's contest, to 13 points on 12 shots -- resulting in Randall finishing with three points below his season average as a result.
Additional
The men's basketball program at Shawnee State returns to regular season action with road contests at Webber International (Fla.) and Warner (Fla.) on back-to-back days in Babson Park, Fla. and Lake Wales, Fla. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon at the Jessica Costanzo Court at the Sabbaugh Athletic Center and the Turner Athletic Center, respectively. Both contests tip off at 4 p.m.
