Box Score SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Senior guard Marcus Pilgrim (Mitchellville, Md./Bishop McNamara) calmly sank a pair of free throws with two seconds left in regulation to lift Shepherd University to a 93-92 win over West Virginia State in MEC men's basketball action at the Butcher Center on Saturday.
Pilgrim had 17 points on the night, including a pair of clutch three-pointers in the game's final minutes.
Senior guard Brantley Osborne (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) led the Rams with 22 points. He was 9-of-20 from the floor with a 4-of-12 effort from beyond the arc. He added six rebounds and three assists.
Junior guard Austin Cunningham (Vincent, Ohio/Ohio Valley) had 15 points and a game-high five assists. Cunningham was 2-of-8 from the floor with a 1-of-4 effort from beyond the arc. He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. Cunningham's 15-point effort pushed him over (1,011 career points) 1,000-point plateau.
Junior forward Morgan McDonald (Inwood, W.Va./Musselman) recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Naim Muhammad (Waldorf, Md./North Point) had 10 points, while freshman forward Mike Reed (Abingdon, Md./Patterson Mill) (3-3 FG) added six points and two rebounds in just seven minutes of action.
Bo King scored a game-high 28 points to pace the Yellow Jackets. Anton Hutchins added 16 points, Steve Wing added 13, while Juan Johnson had 12.
Shepherd shot 41.4 percent (29-70) from the floor with a 26.9 percent (7-26) effort from three-point range. The Rams connected on 28-of-32 free throws (87.5 percent).
West Virginia State shot 50 percent (30-60) from the floor with a 5-of-17 effort (29.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Yellow Jackets hit on 27-of-33 free throws (81.8 percent).
Shepherd had a 40-32 advantage on the boards. The Rams forced 23 turnovers and committed 20.
The game featured 22 lead changes and 15 ties.
A see-saw battle took place in the game's final minute. Muhammad hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left to give Shepherd an 89-88 lead. State answered back on a layup by King with 20 seconds left to take 90-89 lead. Cunningham added two fouls shots with 12 seconds left before King drained a pair of free throws to put State ahead, 92-91, with seven seconds left .
Shepherd improves to 14-4, 9-3 in conference action, while West Virginia State falls to 7-8, 4-8. The Rams return to action on Thursday when they travel to Charleston for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Pilgrim's game-winning free throws
Brantley Osborne led the Rams with 22 points.
Austin Cunningham went over the 1000-point mark for his career.
Kevin Jones battles inside against the Yellow Jackets.
Morgan McDonald had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Naim Muhammad scored 10 points.
Marcus Pilgrim sank a pair of free throws with two seconds left in regulation to lift Shepherd to the win.
Mike Reed scored six points off the bench (Photos by William Ransom)
