Shepherd basketball teams finish with losing records
SHEPHERDSTOWN — Even with a first round win over Virginia-Wise in the MEC men’s basketball tournament, Shepherd couldn’t menace second-seeded Fairmont in the quarterfinals, losing to the Fighting Falcons, 81-54, after once falling behind by 37 points in the second half.
Shepherd, seeded No. 7, faced Virginia-Wise, the No. 10 seed, in the opening round and prevailed, 71-66.
But No. 2 seed Fairmont was a different breed altogether. Having already beaten the Rams two times in the regular season, Fairmont outrebounded Shepherd, 47-30, to easily reach the semifinals.
Vonte Montgomery had 15 Fairmont rebounds.
The Fighting Falcons went 31-for-61 from field, but were only 4-for-21 on three-point attempts. From the free throw line, Fairmont was an accurate 15-for-18. Shepherd went just 21-for-65 from the field and 8-for-28 on three-point tries. The Rams attempted only 7 free throws and made 4 of them.
Fairmont quickly extended its six-point halftime lead by outpointing the struggling Rams, 30-8, in the first and middle parts of the second half.
Fairmont’s scoring advantage in the second half was 47-26.
Jason Jolly had 19 Fairmont points to lead 4 double-figure scorers for Coach Joe Mazzulla’s team. The Fighting Falcons improved to 22-7 overall and moved to the semifinals with the 27-point win.
Shepherd completed the 30-game season with a 14-16 record.
Losing for the ninth straight time, the Shepherd women dropped their opening round game against troubled West Virginia State, a team that only moved to 8-21 overall with the win over the Rams.
Shepherd finished with an 11-18 overall record.
The Yellow Jackets entered the fourth quarter with a 75-61 lead but barely were able to hold at bay a late Shepherd charge. The Rams outpointed the Yellow Jackets, 25-12, in the fourth quarter, but still fell, 87-86.
Shepherd senior Kayla Tibbs scored a school record 43 points. She also set a new standard for three-points field goals for a single season.
Shepherd’s basketball teams will leave the MEC for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference next school year. Both teams will be placed in the East Division of the conference where the most distinguished opponents will be West Chester, Shippensburg, Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg and Millersville.