In their first action of the young season the Shepherd men’s basketball team went 1-1 over the weekend in the Clarion Hotel Conference Challenge.
The Rams took on the East Stroudsburg Warriors in game one Friday evening in a nail biting contest that was decided by three points.
The Warriors dominated the first half by controlling the scoreboard. They lead the Rams by as much as 12 points in the first 20 minutes and took a 43-35 advantage into the halftime break.
It looked to be much of the same in the second half as the Warriors kept the lead to as much as 10 over the first 10 minutes, but then he comeback was on. Over the next 4 minutes Shepherd went on a 10-2 scoring drive and tied the game at 60 with 6 minutes to play. The lead would change four times over the last few minutes of play but the Rams held on to take the victory 72-69 and opening the season with a win.
Steffen Davis led the rams scoring with 16 points in 38 minutes of play while Naim Muhammad added 9 points and 14 rebounds.
In game two of the tournament Saturday, the Rams took on Slippery Rock University hoping to start their season 2-0.
The first half was a back and forth battle in which neither team could gain more than a four point advantage and as both teams headed into the locker room Slippery rock found themselves up 25-23.
The Rams controlled the tempo and the lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half taking going up by as many as 8 points. The final 10 minutes of play was very similar the Shepherd vs. East Stroudsburg game the day before. The final 10 minutes, with several ties and lead changes, but unlike the day before as the final seconds ran off the Rams found themselves on the losing end, falling 57-55.
Davis again shined in game two finishing with 17 points and adding four assists and four rebounds.
The Rams next contest will be at home on Saturday, Nov.19, when they take on Glenville State at 4 p.m. in the first conference game of the season.