Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Senior guard Brantley Osborne (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) scored a game-high 24 points, but Glenville State edged Shepherd with a 74-72 win in quarterfinal action of the MEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Charleston Civic Center on Friday afternoon.
Osborne connected on 9-of-17 shots from the floor with a 4-of-10 effort from three-point range. He was 2-for-2 from the foul line. Osborne added four rebounds and four assists.
Junior guard Austin Cunningham (Vincent, Ohio/Ohio Valley) added 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while junior forward Morgan McDonald (Inwood, WV/Musselman) posted his 13th double-double of the year with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Senior guard Marcus Pilgrim (Mitchellville, Md./Bishop McNamara) contributed 10 points and tied Osborne for team-high assists honors with four.
Donte Morales scored 18 points to lead the Pioneers. Lamar Mallory added 15 points and seven boards, while Kevin Gray tossed in 12 points.
Shepherd closed the first half on a 7-1 run to trail by only a point at 39-38 at the break.
The game featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.
Glenville rallied from a five-point deficit in the game's final minutes to tie the game at 70-all on a pair of free throws by Reggie Williams with 44 seconds remaining. McDonald hit two foul shots with 22 seconds left to give the Rams a 72-70 advantage.
The Pioneers took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Gray with nine seconds left. After a Shepherd turnover, Gray hit on 1-of-2 free throws with three seconds remaining. Shepherd's last-second desperation shot was off the mark.
Shepherd shot 46.3 percent (25-54) from the floor with a 30.4 percent (7-23) effort from three-point range. The Rams hit on 15-of-21 free throws (71.4 percent).
Glenville State shot 49.1 percent (26-53) from the floor with a 7-of-21 effort (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. The Pioneers drained 15-of-20 free throws (75 percent).
Shepherd had a 36-26 edge on the boards. The Rams forced 15 turnovers and committed 17.
Shepherd falls to 20-10, while Glenville State improves to 18-9. The Pioneers advance to the tournament semifinals on Saturday. The Rams await word on a possible regional bid.
