LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Shawnee State University men’s basketball team suffered a scant three-point 61-58 setback in Michael Hunter’s head-coaching debut on Saturday evening — in a non-conference road bout against Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville.
Germain enjoys
strong outing
Despite the loss, Shawnee State senior forward Keith Germain was crucial in keeping the Bears within reach throughout the contest.
The Bears trailed by a 33-22 margin at halftime — but Germain’s efforts, in particular, were critical in keeping the deficit manageable.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native scored 16 of his 24 points in the opening half of play.
The 2022-23 all-RSC talent finished the contest by going 10-of-20 from the field and 3-of-5 from the free throw line en route to his 24-point effort.
Germain also added in a steal and a block to boot.
Ramirez showcases
three-point marksmanship
Needing a lift with the Bears down by as many as 10 (48-38) with 9:06 remaining, Elkin Ramirez supplied that lift with his accuracy from behind the arc.
The guard, after not scoring during the opening half of competition, knocked down three second-half three-pointers in a scoring spree that saw the talented Indianapolis product provide nine consecutive points and 11 of the Bears’ 14 tallies at one point.
He brought, almost single-handedly, Shawnee State back to within a 50-49 margin.
Ramirez ultimately finished with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including a 3-of-5 mark from three-point range.
The Bears closed the gap to as little as a point again on two separate occasions, and — after a free throw each by Tyreke Johnson and Tony Webb Jr. —cut the lead down to 59-58 with 1:02 to play.
However, Simmons’ Phillip Richards Jr. scored on a layup with 31 seconds left — and two attempted game-tying three-point attempts in the waining moments fell off the mark.
Additional
Shawnee State (0-1) faces an NCAA Division I opponent on Wednesday evening — when the Bears travel to Morehead State to take on Preston Spradlin’s Morehead State Eagles.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Ellis T. Johnson Arena in Morehead, Ky.
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