RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- The legacy that Tre Beard will leave behind as a Shawnee State men's basketball letterwinner, once his playing career is over, is undeniable.
Honors graduate. National Champion. 1,000-point scorer. Captain. High IQ player and leader. Simply put, the essence of a true student-athlete.
However, of all of those great accomplishments, Beard's performance for Shawnee State in Tuesday evening's contest against the Rio Grande RedStorm men's basketball program will forever have those who follow Shawnee State Athletics remembering where they were on the day that was Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.
In a grueling and physical contest where Shawnee State (13-12, 8-5 River States Conference) and Rio Grande (18-7, 9-4 River States Conference) left everything out on the floor for 40 minutes plus two five-minute overtime periods, Beard was simply relentless -- as the graduate student scored 30 of his new career-high 38 points in the second half and overtime periods to will the Bears to a gutsy and gritty 80-76 victory over the RedStorm Tuesday evening at Newt Oliver Arena in Rio Grande.
Game Summary
Beard's legendary performance was the headliner -- but not the only story -- in Shawnee State's exceptional effort.
The Bears battled through 18 ties and 14 lead changes to claim the four-point win by forcing 17 Rio Grande turnovers -- and turning those miscues into a 26-15 advantage in points off of turnovers. This was arguably the difference as Shawnee State battled through a four-point deficit in the final 91 seconds of regulation to force not only the first overtime session, but the second as well en route to its eighth victory over the last 10 games.
First Half
Shawnee State got out to a blistering start over the contest's first 8:45 -- as the Bears, down 6-2 to begin the game, went on a 14-4 run over a span of 5:13 with Shawnee State graduate student Tre Beard scoring six points by himself during the spurt, including a three that was splashed directly in front of the Rio Grande student section. Feisal Crumby III also provided an excellent lift for the Bears, scoring each of Shawnee State's first four points of the game to get SSU's offense untracked.
SSU had its lead trimmed to a 16-15 mark, but proceeded to answer with a 5-0 run as Cory Gardner scored all five points over a 51-second span to match the largest lead of the half for the Bears, who proceeded to draw the RedStorm, 25-25, at the halftime break.
While Rio Grande used a 9-4 run to tie the contest at 25 apiece at the half, Shawnee State's defensive intensity and general execution in clutch situations, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, kept SSU right in the hunt.
Second Half
The second half then proceeded to be a rockfight as the Bears, nor the RedStorm, showed signs of backing down as neither team led by more than four points over the entirety of the final 20 minutes of action.
With Shawnee State leading by a 50-49 margin with 4:19 to play after getting two Donovan Lovelace free throws, Rio Grande turned up the dial, going on a 6-1 run and holding SSU without a basket from the field for over three minutes.
Trailing by a 55-51 margin with 1:31 to go in regulation, the Bears came right back, as Beard -- and a Shawnee State defense that forced eight second-half turnovers -- flipped the script on the homestanding RedStorm.
Following a Rio Grande turnover, Beard wasted little time getting to his spot as the shifty guard hit a mid-range jumper from just above the free throw line to immediately pull Shawnee State within two, 55-53, with 1:13 to play. The Bears then forced a missed shot by Rio Grande on the defensive end of the floor, got a key defensive rebound from Ezra McKee, and called timeout -- where Beard, out of the break, went to work again by drawing contact while driving into the middle of the lane. The deft free throw shooter canned both with 17 seconds to play -- tying the game at 55 apiece and sending the contest into overtime.
Overtimes/Beard finishes off career day, Lovelace makes big plays in final 90 seconds
In both overtime sessions, Beard and Gardner -- two of Shawnee State's most spirited players and vital pieces to Shawnee State's success throughout the last month -- went off. The duo combined to score each of Shawnee State's 11 points in the first overtime as the Bears opened the lead up to margins of 61-56 and 63-59 before Rio Grande rallied back to tie the score at 66.
Beard, however, was not to be denied.
In the second overtime, the grad student nailed an open three-pointer just six seconds into the second overtime -- and, by the 3:03 mark of the same stanza, had eight points in the first 1:57 of the second OT, finishing off the personal 8-0 run to start the period with a fantastic acrobatic layup through contact for a successful and-one opportunity.
Up by a 74-70 margin at this point, the Bears, again, had to withstand a charge from Rio Grande -- who rallied again for a personal 6-0 push with the help of a Trey Robertson three-pointer that put the RedStorm ahead, 76-74, with 1:54 to go.
When it was needed the most, however, Shawnee State's defense stood tall -- as after coming up empty on the offensive possession after Robertson's three-pointer, senior defensive stalwart AJ Belton stole a Robertson pass and kicked the ball up ahead to Gardner, who found Donovan Lovelace ahead of the pack to tie the score again at 76-all with 1:11 left.
Just 30 seconds later, Lovelace then blocked a layup by Robertson, came down with the rebound off of his own carom, and was fouled in the process -- which sent the 6-9 sophomore big man to the line for the go-ahead free throws.
Lovelace -- an 82.9 percent free throw shooter -- canned both free throw attempts to put Shawnee State ahead for good, and after a missed layup attempt by Rio Grande, Lovelace rebounded the ball and shoveled it off to Beard, who was fouled, and appropriately finished the deal by dropping in his final two points of the game to cap off a wild and frantic double overtime contest in Rio Grande.
Beard keeps building legacy
En route to posting his career-high 38 points, Beard went 10-of-22 from the field (45.5 percent), 5-of-12 from three-point range (40 percent) and an incredible 13-of-14 from the free throw line. Beard scored 17 of his 38 points between the two overtime periods alone, and only turned the ball over one time despite playing 40 out of a possible 50 minutes in the contest.
For his career, Beard now has 1,169 points at Shawnee State, which is 12th in program history, and sits at exactly 230 made three-point field goals for his SSU career, which is just 31 three-pointers away from tying the all-time program record of 261 threes by Jeff Fraley. The 38-point performance by Beard is the most points that any Shawnee State player has scored over the last 21 seasons, dating back to when Dakstats records were kept beginning with the 2003-04 campaign.
Additional
With Shawnee State's victory Tuesday evening, the Bears will turn their attention to a Saturday afternoon contest against Indiana-East, which begins at 1 p.m. in Waller Gymnasium. Five players, including Tre Beard, AJ Belton, Feisal Crumby III, Cory Gardner and Elkin Ramirez, will all be honored prior to the contest as part of Senior Day festivities.
