The Mayor hits The Gavel: Birthday boy Beard scores 24 on 7-7 FG, 4-4 3PT in SSU MBB 80-75 win over Kentucky Christian

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- There's always been a special 'it' factor around Tre Beard.

The former Chillicothe High School product's charisma and joy for life shines in the brightest of ways.

Make no mistake about it, however, the combo guard is a competitor.

And when the lights shine the brightest, Beard seems to always answer the call.

Needing big buckets from their multi-year starter, The Mayor delivered once again as his game-high 24 points, including a go-ahead three-point field goal from the right wing with 4:39 to play that put Shawnee State ahead for good, and a 20-point effort from Markell Hood that included 16 first-half points off of the bench, led the Bears in the Shawnee State men's basketball program's 80-75 victory over the Kentucky Christian Knights' men's basketball program Saturday afternoon at Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth.

The Rundown

For the third straight contest, Shawnee State (2-1) shot the ball in a highly proficient manner on the offensive end, going 23-of-48 (47.9 percent) from the field. The shooting performance was actually the worst through Shawnee State's first three contests -- and yet, the Bears came within a missed shot of shooting 50 percent from the field for the third straight affair to start the year.

Shawnee State also posted a plus-five advantage on the glass (32-27), scored 28 bench points to Kentucky Christian's 19, and, in what was certainly a difference-making stat, scored 23 points off of 18 Kentucky Christian turnovers, as opposed to KCU's 18 points off of SSU's turnovers on the evening.

Hood stays hot

Having finished second half of Shawnee State's 83-64 victory over Simmons (Ky.) in a strong manner, Shawnee State senior wing Markell Hood carried his effort over into the first half of competition against Kentucky Christian.

In fact, Hood, along with Beard, ultimately combined to score 30 out of Shawnee State's 39 first-half tallies -- as the duo proved to be terrific.

Hood scored 16 points in 13 first-half minutes, went 6-of-11 from the field -- including 2-of-3 from three-point range -- and posted two blocks and a steal as well to help Shawnee State shoot out to a 39-33 halftime advantage.

A microwave scorer, Hood scored 12 consecutive Shawnee State points in a span of 3:02 (13:24 to 10:22), and all 10 during a 10-0 spurt to help Shawnee State take as large as a 21-13 lead before the Bears settled for a two-possession advantage at the break.

For the season, Hood is averaging 15.7 points and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range.

The Mayor rarely misses

Showcasing the deft shooting touch that he has become known for throughout his career, Shawnee State combo guard Tre Beard was again huge in big moments.

Beard, who didn't miss a single one of the seven shots that he took, nabbed his game-high 24 points on simply incredible efficiency, scoring nearly 3.5 points per shot taken by going 7-of-7 from the field, 4-of-4 from three point range and 6-of-8 from the free throw stripe.

The 5-10 senior's biggest moments, however, came over a minute stretch in the second half.

On two separate occasions, Beard, when Kentucky Christian rallied to tie or take the lead, answered, as the slick scorer dropped in a layup to put Shawnee State in front, 66-64, with 5:10 remaining, then following a three-point answer by the Knights that gave KCU a brief advantage, answered back with a trey of his own as fellow backcourt guard Marcos Vazquez drove into the left side of the lane and swung a pass out to the right wing straight to Beard, who fired up a high-arcing three-point shot that was buried with 4:39 to play.

That bucket proved to be the go-ahead basket -- as Beard, in addition to his 24 points and 100/100/75 shooting splits, added in five rebounds and a team-high four steals to boot.

For the season, Beard has put up 22.3 points, four rebounds, three assists and 2.3 steals per outing on 56.8 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from three-point range. He's played in each of the 120 minutes contested over the first three games of the year.

Additional

Marcos Vazquez added in 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals while going 8-of-12 from the free throw line, while fellow starter Donovan Lovelace posted seven points and five rebounds and bench talent Elkin Ramirez added eight points, four rebounds and three assists on 5-of-5 free throw shooting without turning the basketball over in 30 minutes of game action off of the pine. AJ Belton, who started alongside Lovelace as a forward, posted six points, four rebounds and two blocks.

6-8 forward D'Angelo Stoxstill led Kentucky Christian with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal in 39 minutes while going 9-of-11 from the field, while Jayden Loydd posted 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and a 4-of-6 mark from three-point range to lead the Knights (0-3).

Shawnee State (2-1) will get a day of rest before returning to action Monday evening when the Bears take on Wilberforce at 7:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Shawnee State women's basketball program, who plays its season-opener at Wilberforce as well at 5:30 p.m.

Both contests will be at Gaston Lewis Arena in Wilberforce, Ohio.