Box Score PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The head coaching debut of Fred Lymas couldn't have gone much better Wednesday evening, as the Shawnee State men's basketball program led throughout the contest's final 28:30 and never trailed in the second half as a result in the Bears' 83-63 victory over Northwestern Ohio in a nonconference contest that was held at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.
Showcasing a roster full of depth, a total of 15 players ultimately took part in the nonconference contest between the Bears and Racers with 11 of those individuals seeing significant playing time as Lymas' group ultimately wore on the Racers throughout the affair.

Overall, Shawnee State posted an impressive 19-2 advantage in points off of turnovers by forcing 18 Northwestern Ohio miscues, added in a 16-9 advantage in second-chance points and posted a plus-14 rebounding advantage in the game (47-33). Most impressively, the Bears scored at a high rate off of assists, with Shawnee State accumulating 23 assists as a team on its 30 made buckets in the contest.
Behind by a 15-13 margin, El Sieger's pass to Daniel Rosenber resulted in a two-hand jam with 8:42 to play in the opening half that tied the score, and on the ensuing inbounds pass by Northwestern Ohio, a steal and layup by Trevino Glover off of the UNOH turnover gave Shawnee State a 17-15 lead with 8:33 to go in the opening half.

From there, Shawnee State never trailed, and ultimately went on a half-ending 24-10 spurt with the high-energy play of Rosenber, Jason Steele and Tyreon Payne heading the charge, giving SSU a 37-25 advantage.

The Bears then started the second half with an 18-6 run -- ultimately pushing the lead to as much as 24, 55-31, with just over 14 minutes to play in the contest. Jareon Mayo's steal and flush ultimately began the run while Rosenber, Payne and Steele added in an elbow jumper and two separate breakaway layups, beginning the second half on an 8-2 run which helped open the floodgates in the final stanza of action.

Rosenber ultimately finished the contest with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks to lead Shawnee State while Payne set the table from his point guard position all game long, supplying 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Steele added 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks of his own to complete the double-figure outings for the Bears in what was a balanced attack.

Overall, 11 different players scored for the Bears -- with El Sieger, Kiante Williams, Jareon Mayo, Trevino Glover, Cameron Gibson, Rheyce DeBoard and Ahamdou Aw all reaching the scoring column in the contest.
Shawnee State (1-0) will gear up for a big nonconference test this weekend as the Bears take on No. 20 Cumberlands (Ky.) at 6 p.m. inside the Waller Gymnasium campus.

For more information on the Shawnee State men's basketball program, visit Shawnee State men's basketball on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ssuhoops/, on X at https://x.com/ShawneeStateMBB, or at https://ssubears.com/sports/mens-basketball.