J
oplin, Mo. – The SBU Men's Basketball team wrapped up their tournament hosted by MSSU Saturday evening, taking on former MIAA foe Pittsburg State. The Bearcats downed the Gorillas 81-72 to improve to 3-1 (0-0 GLVC) to start the season. With the win, head coach
Clark Sheehy collected his 100
th win as a Bearcat.
RJ Crawford got the Bearcats going, scoring the first points of the game. The teams were going back and forth, swapping leads early. About 7 minutes into the game,
Drew McMillin hit a big three to give SBU a four-point lead. Pitt State stayed in it and took the lead for the remainder of the first half with 6:01 to play before the break.
Mitch Ganote hit a pair of free throws late, but PSU made a jumper right before the end of the period, making the halftime score 43-37 PSU.
Jalil Beaubrun,
Mitch Ganote, and
RJ Crawford made the first baskets of the second half, quickly erasing the deficit and taking a one-point lead. A few minutes later, it was Beaubrun, Ganote, and
Joe Miller going on a seven-point run to go ahead 52-45. Just under the 10-minute mark,
Quinn Nelson drained a three to boost SBU's lead to 9. With 4:51 left, Pitt State cut SBU's lead down to 65-64. Despite building the lead back to 5, the Gorillas hit a three to trail just 69-67. A couple of jumpers from Beaubrun and Ganote along with 6
Nico Aguirre free throws helped seal an SBU victory at 81-72.
Recording his second double-double in as many days was
Mitch Ganote. He led the Bearcats with 22 points on 50% shooting and 8-10 from the free throw line, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished 6 assists, and had 1 steal.
RJ Crawford finished with 13 points, going 4-6 from the field and 3-4 from three.
Jalil Beaubrun also had double digit points with 12, along with 5 rebounds and an outstanding 6 blocks.
Joe Miller was also strong on the glass, grabbing 8 rebounds in the win. As a team, the Bearcats out-rebounded the Gorillas 41-24.
The team returns to Bolivar on Tuesday, November 23, playing host to Hannibal-LaGrange. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
