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12.21.07 -
The NAIA 12th-ranked Foresters (11-3)
held off a feisty Shawnee State University (6-4) squad to earn the
77-66 victory on the road.
Although HU got off
to a 7-0 start, the Bears fought back to take a 12-11 lead. Two
free throws from Sean Elliott gave Shawnee its biggest lead of the
game at 17-14 just past the midpoint of the half. The Foresters
then responded with an 11-0 run to go up 25-17 with 6:08 on the clock.
The Bears again battled back to within two at 30-28, but HU finished
the period with a 6-2 spurt to head to the locker room up 36-30.
To begin the second
half, Shawnee needed less than three minutes to knot the score at 40.
Over the next eight minutes, the score remained close with five lead
changes and five ties. A pair of Luke Smith charity tosses with
9:08 remaining gave HU the lead for good at 50-49.
The Bears continued
to hang around and were still within three at 59-56 with 5:52 to play
when the Foresters put together five unanswered points to match their
largest lead of the game at 64-56 with 3:46 on the clock. After
trading a couple lay-ups, HU's Smith capitalized on a Shawnee turnover
to push the Foresters' lead to double figures at 70-60 with 1:49 to
play. Shawnee was then forced to foul and HU knocked down 7 of 8
free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The Foresters put
five in double figures with Doug Sheckler and Kevin Kyle leading the
way with 18 points and nine rebounds apiece. Kyle Benge added 16
points while Tyler Shively and Smith each finished with 11. Josh
Reed paced the Bears with 24 points and Elliott had 23.
Shawnee went 7-25
from downtown while the Foresters were just 2-13, but HU out-scored
the Bears 25-11 at the line to more than make up the difference.
Box Score
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