Bryant

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SSU Sports Information

The Shawnee State Bears (10-18) fell to the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears (21-7) for the second time in as many tries this season 70-56. The Bears had costly turnovers in the game and never were able to gain a lead as they trailed from tipoff.

The Bears struggled right from the start of the gamezz as West Virginia Tech went on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes of the game. Tyler Morgan scored Shawnee State’s first basket at the 17:45 mark. Down 10-2, Trevor Banks hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bears within 10-5 but that would be the closest Shawnee State would get as the Golden Bears quickly went back up by 10 with a 3-pointer and a jumper.

Down 21-11 with 10:10 remaining in the first half, the Bears would cut it to 21-15 after a jumper from Mark Bryant and then after a steal from Tyler Boyles he finished with a layup on the other end.

West Virginia Tech would not let Shawnee State get any closer in the first half as they went on a 10-0 run shortly after and the Bears saw their deficit grow to 17 before heading into halftime down 39-28. Shawnee State shot 48 percent in the first half while West Virginia Tech shot 17-34 from the field.

The Bears started the second half on a 6-1 run getting buckets from Morgan, a fast break layup from Andrew Devlin and a jumper from Banks in the first 3:04 in the second half to pull Shawnee State again within striking distance.

Throughout the second half the Bears were within striking distance of capturing their first lead of the ballgame but the Golden Bears just would not allow it as turnovers killed Shawnee State. After a free throw from Bryant at the 7:28 mark to get the Bears within five, West Virginia Tech would extend their lead to 10 once again.

Over the final 4:31, the Golden Bears were able to establish a lead of 17, matching the game-high and dropping any hopes of a comeback.

Bryant led the way for the Bears as he scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Morgan also added 12 points and eight rebounds of his own and Banks scored 14 points shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field.

Shawnee State shot 44 percent while West Virginia Tech shot 27-61 for the game. The Bears struggled shooting beyond the arc going 5-15 while the Golden Bears shot 7-23. From the free throw line Shawnee State made 15-26 to West Virginia Tech’s 9-12. The biggest difference in the game was the Bears 29 turnovers limiting them to only 41 shot attempts compared to 15 turnovers for West Virginia Tech while they had 61 field goal attempts.

Shawnee State will end their regular season tomorrow Saturday, Feb. 25 against rival Rio Grande. Shawnee State will turn around and host Rio Grande at 5:00 p.m. Monday in Portsmouth for the opening round of the Mid-South Conference tournament.

Bryant scores 1,000th career point

Junior Mark Bryant scored 15 points in the Bears’ contest against West Virginia Tech propelling him over the 1,000 point mark in his career. Bryant currently stands with 1,006 career points and 15th overall on Shawnee State’s all-time roster.

The forward entered the game with 991 career points and scored his 1,000th point on a fast break with 11:54 remaining in the game to pull the Bears within six of West Virginia Tech. The Bears would go on to fall 70-56 to the Golden Bears of West Virginia Tech.

Bryant leads the Bears this season with 428 points, averaging 15.3 points per game.

Shawnee State defeats West Virginia Tech 75-56

The Shawnee State Bears (23-4, 12-2) knocked off West Virginia Tech Golden Bears 75-56 thanks to sharp shooting in the second half and a strong defensive showing.

Shawnee State overcame a slow start in the first half as they scored only seven points in the first nine minutes of the game. Down 9-7 and trailing throughout the first nine minutes a jumper from Erin Dailey tied the game at 9-9. It was a start of an 8-0 run from the Bears as they clawed out to a 15-9 advantage over West Virginia Tech.

Up 15-11 with 7:35 remaining in the first half, Alannah Sheets scored nine straight points helping the Bears extend their lead to 24-15. With 1:32 a jumper from Alex Pohl put Shawnee State up 30-20 and a few possessions later a 3-pointer from Abby Ballmangave Shawnee State their largest lead of the half.

The Bears entered halftime shooting 42 percent and a 35-22 lead.

Shawnee State controlled the second half as the Golden Bears got no closer than 12. A jumper from Schera Sampson at the 15:26 mark gave the Bears a 22 point lead. The onslaught continued as Sampson and Ballman hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 12:40 remaining to extend the lead to 24.

The backcourt of Ballman and Sheets hit back-to-back 3-pointers of their own with 10:00 remaining giving Shawnee State a 29 point lead which was the largest in the game. The Bears knocked down seven 3-pointers in the second half and they shot 44 percent from downtown in the half.

Shawnee State had four players score in double figures. Sheets led the way with 16 points and four assists, shooting 3-6 from beyond the arc and 5-10 overall in 32 minutes. Sampson who was coming off a career high 23 points scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Pohl and Ballman each added 12 points.

Shawnee State shot 44 percent for the game while West Virginia Tech shot 21-58 for the game, The Bears made 9-27 from beyond the arc while seven were made in the second half. The Golden Bears made 8-25 and 6-11 from the free throw line compared to 6-9 for the Bears.

Shawnee State will finish their regular season against rival Rio Grande tonight. The MSC Quarterfinals will be played on March 1 as the Bears opponent is TBA.