PORTSMOUTH — Teams which come out, and compete with a great deal of heart, will always be tough to completely vanquish completely at the end of contests.

However, the Shawnee State University men’s basketball team found a way.

And as a result, the SSU men are celebrating a major milestone.

Tre Beard followed up his career-high 22-point performance against Point Park (Pa.) by seeing another career-high watermark with a 23-point outing on offensive efficiency numbers that are as good as one could hope for.

Meanwhile, Tyreke Johnson and John Dawson combined for 40 points themselves — while shooting 11-for-23 from the field together.

That trio not only led five double-figure scorers, but also led the Bears to their 500th victory as a program — with a 99-94 victory over the Wilberforce Bulldogs last Tuesday evening at Waller Gymnasium.

By the numbers

The contest itself was a shootout in every facet, as both units combined for 65 made field-goal attempts — including 20 made buckets from beyond the three-point line.

While Shawnee State allowed Wilberforce to shoot 34-for-74 (46-percent) from the field and go 11-for-25 (44-percent) from three-point range, the Bears countered by going 31-for-58 (53.4-percent) from the floor and 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from long distance.

The Bears also outrebounded the Bulldogs by a 32-30 margin, and were rock-solid at the free-throw line, draining 28 free throws in 37 attempts to amass a 75.7-percent accuracy rate.

Beard fittingly

leads way for Bears

In perhaps a fitting manner, the guard Beard — who is not only the most experienced hand returning in terms of playing experience at SSU but also serves as the individual with the greatest familial ties to the Shawnee State men’s basketball program — led the scoring output with 23 points, setting a career-high for the second consecutive game while also leading Shawnee State to its 500th victory in program history.

Beard, whose father Pat played for the Bears from 1993 to 1997, had easily the most efficient outing of his college career — as the standout guard simply couldn’t miss from the field.

Beard went a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor in the first half — and 2-for-2 from long range — en route to a 12-point performance in the opening half, then amassed a perfect 6-for-6 shooting mark from the free-throw line in the second half to claim 11 points.

Ultimately, Beard’s efforts resulted in the lead guard amassing his numbers on incredible efficiency — as the second-generation Bear scored his 23 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field, 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range, and an 8-for-8 mark from the free-throw line in the contest.

Johnson, Dawson

help close out contest

Having helped in their efforts to close out contests in the past, Shawnee State upperclassmen Johnson and Dawson certainly delivered in the same manner on Tuesday evening.

Johnson — who nestled in right behind Beard with a 22-point outing on 6-for-13 shooting — also added in six rebounds, four assists and three steals while turning the ball over just twice for a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio in a team-high 36 minutes played.

The Woodstock, Ga. native notched 14 points, three steals and two assists in the second half alone — while shooting 3-for-7 from the field and 8-for-12 from the charity stripe in the final 20-minute stanza.

Dawson, meanwhile, enjoyed his finest offensive performance as a Bear, notching an 18-point outing on 50-percent shooting from the field.

The Huntington, W. Va. product scored eight points in the opening half and 10 points in the second — finishing with his aforementioned offensive output, while going 5-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line in the contest.

From the 9:07 to the 6:43 mark of the second half, Dawson and Johnson combined to score eight of 10 Shawnee State points.

That helped hold Wilberforce at bay, as the Bulldogs cut a 19-point Shawnee State advantage all the way down to just three (72-69) — with less than 10 minutes to play.

The pair then accounted for each of Shawnee State’s last seven points — and eight out of the Bears’ final 10 tallies over the game’s final 1:44 — to officially hold the Bulldogs back and help finalize the result.

Germain’s explosiveness,

Ramirez’s shooting key

Two of Shawnee State’s premier bucket-getters did much the same last Tuesday evening — as Keith Germain and Elkin Ramirez were each big in the final result for the Bears.

Germain — who posted 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks on 5-for-9 shooting in Shawnee State’s five-point victory — nabbed eight of his 13 tallies in the second half of competition.

The senior forward from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. posted six consecutive points for the Bears to start the second half from the 19:47 to 17:37 marks, and with 8:21 to play, added in arguably the highlight of the contest — taking an alley-oop from Dawson and rising to rim level en route to a vicious finish on the backside on a two-handed rack attack.

Ramirez, who supplied 10 points in 28 minutes off the bench, scored seven points in the opening half — while going 2-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

Additional

Shawnee State will be back in action on Saturday (Dec. 16) — when the Bears travel to Ohio Christian University to take on the Trailblazers in a River States Conference doubleheader.

The men’s contest will follow the women’s contest, and begins at 3 p.m. in Circleville.

For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, please visit www.ssubears.com — or visit the X and Facebook pages at https://twitter.com/SSUBears and https://www.facebook.com/SSUBears.

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