Men’s Basketball Right at Home in Dixie

Men Win Second in a Row while Women Drop a Heartbreaker

For More Information Contact: Scott Musa 540.665.5417

Men's Basketball

WINCHESTER , Va. – The SU men’s basketball improved to 2-1 in Dixie Conference play Tuesday evening with a come-from-behind 74-69 victory over Ferrum College . Shenandoah, which was picked to finish eighth of eight teams in the pre-season poll, proved with its third strong outing in as many conference games that they would be a forced to be reckoned with in conference play.

In three conference games, SU (6-7, 2-1) has two wins and a five-point loss to No. 8 in the nation Christopher Newport University .

Ferrum (5-7, 0-3) jumped on the Hornets early, taking a 43-32 lead into halftime and leading by as much as 13 before the hosts staged a furious comeback. Sophomore Halston Camp ( Harrisonburg , Va. / Harrisonburg ) keyed a 20-7 run to start the second half with a pair of steals and three thunderous dunks that brought the sellout crowd of 680 to its feet.

After taking a 52-50 lead with 14:07 left, the lead would change hands five more times before senior Ronald Merriwether ( Frankfurt , Germany /Giessen American) put the Hornets up for good at 61-59 with 5:29 to go.

Merriwether, riding high after his induction into the 1,000 point club on Saturday, led all scorers with 26 points on the evening.  Junior Tyson Thompson (Keysville, Va./Randolph-Henry) turned in his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 assists while Camp added 18 points and junior Michael Atkins (Winchester, Va./Sherando) 12.

Atkins also had a game high four blocked shots.

A complete box score and play by play can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/mb/200102/011502.htm

The men complete another Dixie Conference doubleheader on Saturday with a 4:00 tip against NC Wesleyan.

Women's Basketball

WINCHESTER, Va. -  For the second straight game, the Shenandoah University women’s basketball team dominated play for the first half only to see its opponent come back to steal the victory in the final 20 minutes of play. On Tuesday, it was Ferrum that turned the trick as the Lady Panthers stormed back to take a 69-64 win at Shingleton Gymnasium.

SU (2-9, 0-3) took a 41-34 into the half, only to see league leading Ferrum (10-3, 3-0) use a 36-17 offensive rebounding advantage to take the five-point win.

Despite giving up the lead midway through the second half, the Hornets still had a chance to pull out the victory in the waning moments. Down 67-64 with just under 30 seconds to play, freshman Jenny Gray ( Sumerduck , Va. / Liberty ) was unable to convert a layup and the Lady Panthers iced the victory by grabbing the missed shot.

Senior Wendy Legge (Stephens City, Va./Sherando) tied a career high with 26 points while Gray added nine points and a game high five assists. She continues to lead the Dixie in assists at 5.0 per game.

A complete box score and play by play can be found at http://www.su.edu/athletics/wb/200102/01502.htm  

Shenandoah will now look to rebound from this loss this Saturday when they host N.C. Wesleyan at 2:00 pm .