Wordlaw

In its lone home game of the campaign, the Rams defeated Frostburg, 73-62. Shepherd’s next home game at the Butcher Center doesn’t come until Dec. 6, when Indiana visits Shepherdstown.

The Rams are currently 2-2 overall, having also beaten Winston Salem, while losing 93-50 in Virginia State and 92-72 to West Liberty.

Last season, the Rams finished at 13-15 and have not enjoyed a winning season since back in 2017-2018. There was no 2020-2021 season, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Five consecutive losing seasons have dampened things in the Butcher Center, but a host of new faces joined the ranks this season, creating a new optimism.

Davis

Freshman Brody Davis comes from Morgantown High School and is joined by another freshman in sixth-man Elwyne Wordlaw.

Transfer brothers Chase Paar and Cole Paar came in from Towson University. They are two of the tallest players in Shepherd’s history at 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-9.

A returning starter is 6-foot-8 senior Carson Poffenberger, from Morgantown.

Jarod Robinson, Michael Cooper and Marcus Banks are the other three players being used the most extensively in the early season by longtime coach Justin Namolik.

Shepherd was overshadowed last season by PSAC East Division rivals East Stroudsburg (25-5 overall), Millersville (24-7 overall), Lock Haven (21-8 overall) and West Chester (18-11 overall).

Cole Paar

The other four members of the league’s East Division were unable to keep up. Shippensburg was 8-20, Mansfield was also 8-20, Bloomsburg was 5-23 and Kutztown limped home with its 4-24 record.

The West Division produces yearly titans in Gannon, California, Indiana and Seton Hill.

Mercyhurst has left the PSAC and moved onto a higher division of the NCAA.

The Rams did qualify last season for the PSAC tournament, but were eliminated early in that event.

Chase Paar