SSU Sports Information

Robin Hagen-Smith advises her players during a timeout earlier in the season.

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SSU Sports Information

Trailing 32-25 at the half, the 11th-ranked Shawnee State had a huge second half outscoring the 19th-ranked Tigers of Campbellsville 37-26 to win 62-58.

The first half was a close battle that saw eight lead changes and four ties. Trailing 25-20, senior Abby Ballman drained a 3-pointer and junior Catrice Mitchell hit a shot in the paint to knot the game at 25 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

CU’s Courtney Clifton answered with a 3-pointer and a basket in the paint to extend the lead back to five. Shawnee State was unable to score again in the half and the Tigers’ Megan Isaacs scored another basket to give Campbellsville the 32-25 lead at the half. Campbellsville out-shot the Bears 50 percent to 36 percent from the floor in the first half.

In the second half, Campbellsville maintained a three possession early and lead by as many as 10, 46-36, with 12:38 remaining in the contest. After trading points, CU’s Caroline Owen capped off a fast break with a bucket to give the Tigers the 48-41 advantage.

Shawnee State made their rally as junior Alex Pohl started the Bears’ 6-0 run with a bucket in the paint. On Shawnee’s next possession junior Schera Sampson,was fouled shooting and made both free throws.

Pohl capped off the run as she collected her own miss and put it back to pull the Bears within one, 48-47. Keisha Compton stopped SSU’s run and the two teams exchanged points, before Ballman hit a 3-pointer with 6:22 left to knot the game at 52.

A minute later, sophomore Alannah Sheets connected on a 3-pointer to give the Bears the 58-55 lead. Isaccs cut the lead to 55-54 with a pair of free throws, but Ballman hit another long range shot to extend the lead back to four with just over three minutes remaining.

With 2:06 remaining Chelsea Craig scored for the Tigers to cut the lead to 60-58. A Shawnee State miss opened the door for Campbellsville to tie or take the lead, but Mitchell came up big with a block and Ballman hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to secure the victory.

Catrice led the Bears off the bench with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Ballman finished with 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sheets added 12 points and four steals, while Pohl scored 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

Campbellsville was led by Chelsea Craig’s 16 points and Courtney Clifton finished with 14 points.

Shawnee State shot 39 percent from the field, while Campbellsville went 24-for-52. From long range, the Bears hit seven 3-pointers for 44 percent. The Tigers hit four 3-pointers for 21 percent. At the line, Shawnee State converted 7-of-10, while Campbellsville shot 75 percent.

Shawnee State travels to St. Catharine today for a conference double-header. The women’s game is set to begin at 2 p.m. The Bears defeated the Patriots on Dec. 3 at home by a score of 82-64.

First half hurts Bears in loss at Campbellsville

Despite outscoring the Campbellsville University Tigers (14-7, 3-6 MSC) in the second half, the SSU men were not able to overcome a rough first half as they fell on the road 68-57.

Shawnee State struggled in the first half and found themselves down by as many as 18 late in the period. The Bears held an 11-7 lead but Campbellsville went on a 10-0 run to capture their lead.

Sophomore Andrew Devlin stopped the run with a bucket in the paint, but the Tigers scored nine unanswered points to take a double-digit lead. The Tigers would extend their lead to 38-20 with just over three minutes remaining before the break. After exchanging baskets, Devlin closed the half making 1-of-2 at the line as the Bears trailed 40-23 at the half.

Shawnee State shot 35 percent from the floor, while the Tigers made seven more baskets and shot 50 percent from the field. The Bears didn’t just struggle from the field, but also at the free throw line as they hit only one free throw out of seven attempts for a dismal 14 percent.

In the second half, the Bears rallied back into the game with a 17-9 run and the help of shooting 50 percent from the field. With two minutes remaining junior Tyler Boyles hit a 3-pointer to cut the Tigers lead to 62-57, but it wasn’t enough as the Bears fell 68-57.

Shawnee State was led by junior Tyler Morgan who scored 22 points, while pulling down 10 rebounds. Boyles finished with 12 points, while junior Mark Bryant added 11 points and six rebounds.

Campbellsville was led by Reggie Smith’s 16 point performance. Jordan Myers had 14 while Kevin Bobson and Cedric Henderson rounded out the Tigers in double-figures with 13 and 11 respectively.

Shawnee State shot 41 percent in the contest, while the Tigers went 25-for-55 for 46 percent. From beyond the arc, the Bears made five 3-pointers. Campbellsville shot 33 percent from long range making eight 3-pointers. At the line, Shawnee State struggled making 10-of-23 attempts for 44 percent. The Tigers converted 10-of-14, all in the second half, for 71 percent.

Shawnee State travels to St. Catharine today. The Bears lost to the Patriots 77-69 on Dec. 3. The Bears return home Feb. 2 to host the Cavaliers of UVa-Wise. The men’s game is set to tip-off at 8 p.m. following the women’s contest.