Oakland City, IN – Men's basketball fell to Shawnee State 74-73 in a heartbreaker Saturday afternoon in the Johnson Center. It marks the third straight loss at home by fewer than five points for the Mighty Oaks and drops their overall record to 7-10, 2-5 (RSC).
Oakland City lead most of a close first half, with its largest lead coming at 33-24. DJ Redding hit a pair of free throws with 2:50 left to put the Mighty Oaks up by nine for their largest lead of the half. Redding finished the game with nine points and an assist. Shawnee State's Keith Germain scored 14 of his game high 28 points in the first half before seeing the Mighty Oaks take a 35-30 lead into the break.
Drake Moore and Hunter Johnson got things started off in the second half as they scored the team's first 10 points. Johnson finished with a team high of 19 points and four rebounds while Moore finished his night with 17 points, five assists and four rebounds.
The lead was extended to 59-49 with 8:51 remaining but the Bears would not go away. They tied the game at 71-71 with only 1:23 to play before eventually taking a two-point lead with twenty-seven seconds left. Junior Sam Muller responded by tying the game with fourteen seconds to go, he finished with eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. A foul call on Hunter Johnson with three seconds left sent Shawnee State to the line where they missed the first attempt but hit the second, securing the win 74-73.
Upcoming games for the Mighty Oaks include a road trip to take on Ohio Christian and Rio Grande before returning home for a matchup against Brescia on January 27th at 2pm.
