Lourdes closed out the non-conference portion of the 2019-2020 season on Monday evening, suffering a 79-72 setback to Shawnee State inside of Waller Gymnasium in Portsmouth, Ohio.
 
"I thought this was a very good game on our part," head coach Dennis Hopson said afterwards.  "We were right there.  We got the possessions we wanted but didn't shoot the ball well and they had 37 free throw attempts.  I'm proud of the guys but we need to make shots when we're playing a good team."
 
The Gray Wolves scored the game's first eight points against the Bears and led most of the first half.  Shawnee State took its first lead, 17-16, at the 7:32 mark of the stanza, but the advantage was short-lived.  Clif Snow (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown H.S.) answered with a three-pointer to put Lourdes back in front.  Shawnee State would not lead again until the closing seconds of the first half, making a jumper with four seconds remaining before intermission to take a 30-28 lead into the break.
 
The Bears scored the first 10 points out of the locker room to push their lead to 12 just three minutes into the final period.  Shawnee State extended the lead to 13, 45-32, before the Gray Wolves battled back.  A 9-2 run pulled Lourdes to within six by the 13-minute mark.
 
Shawnee State pushed the lead back to 12, 65-53, with under four minutes remaining before Lourdes made one more spurt.  The Gray Wolves were able to pull within five with under a minute to play, but the Bears made free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
 
Snow and Kenny Coleman (Toledo, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales H.S.) led the way for Lourdes with 14 points each while Nick Welch (Temperance, Mich./Saint Mary Catholic Central H.S.) and Mike Bruce (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti H.S.) added 13 points each.
 
Lourdes shot just 32.4% from the floor, but took 17 more shots than the Bears, as Shawnee State connected at a 44.4% clip.  The Gray Wolves committed 16 turnovers while forcing 20 on the defensive end.
 
Kyree Elder led four Bears in double figures, scoring 25 points while grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double for Shawnee State (16-6). 
 
Lourdes (17-6) will return home to the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves host Aquinas.  Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.