Ferrum (6-16, 3-7 USA South) led by 14 points as late as the 5:17 mark, but Shenandoah (13-9, 5-4 USA South) rallied to trail by just three, 68-65, with 15 ticks remaining. SU was then forced to foul and the Panthers Kenny Johnson and Rob Fuller combined for an 8 for 12 performance from the line to ice the victory.
The Hornets shot a season low 9 for 28 (32.1 percent) in the first half as FC took a 27-25 lead into the halftime lockerroom. SU also had little balance on offense; freshman Jeremiah Lawrence had 12 points and sophomore Onyie Onunaku eight, but the Hornets didn’t have another player find the bottom of the net until senior Chris Rhone hit one of two free throws with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
After scoring the final four points of the period to get within two, coach Rob Harris’ club had a chance to tie with the opening possession of the second. Unfortunately, in a microcosm of the contest, Shenandoah turned it over and Ferrum converted on the other end.
The Panthers scored 19 points off of Hornets turnovers, which mitigated a 43-37 SU advantage on the boards.
Lawrence led with 17 points; he was also a career best nine for nine from the line and pulled down a career high 15 rebounds. Onunaku had 14 before fouling out in the final minute while Rhone added 14 and Kenny Purnell 12. All of Purnell’s points came in the second half.
Ken Holley led FC with 15 points. Keith Harris had 14, Fuller 13 and Johnson 10.
Box Score/Play by Play
SU is right back in action tomorrow afternoon at Averett University. The second half of a USA South Conference doubleheader, the game begins at 4:00.
Newspaper Box Score Shenandoah vs Ferrum 2/12/05 4 pm at Ferrum, Va. At Ferrum, Va. FERRUM 69, SHENANDOAH 65 SHENANDOAH (13-9, 5-4 USA-So) LAWRENCE, Jeremiah 4-11 9-9 17; RHONE, Chris 5-18 3-4 14; ONUNAKU, Onyie 7-13 0-1 14; PURNELL, Kenneth 4-11 0-1 12; HALE, Jared 2-6 2-2 6; MILLER, Patrick 1-3 0-0 2; JOHNS, Steven 0-0 0-0 0; JENKINS, Chris 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-66 14-17 65. FERRUM (6-16, 3-7 USA-So) HOLLEY, Ken 7-12 1-4 15; HARRIS, Keith 6-13 0-0 14; FULLER, Rob 3-6 7-10 13; JOHNSON, Kenny 3-9 4-7 10; ROBINSON, Ed 3-5 0-0 6; GODSEY, Jon 2-2 2-2 6; HOLLAND, Rafael 1-5 2-2 5; KELLY, Nigel 0-0 0-0 0; TOWNES, Brandon 0-1 0-0 0; CHILTON, Quinton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 16-25 69. Shenandoah.................... 25 40 - 65 Ferrum........................ 27 42 - 69 3-point goals-Shenandoah 5-20 (PURNELL, Kenneth 4-8; RHONE, Chris 1-5; HALE, Jared 0-4; JENKINS, Chris 0-3), Ferrum 3-11 (HARRIS, Keith 2-5; HOLLAND, Rafael 1-2; JOHNSON, Kenny 0-2; TOWNES, Brandon 0-1; FULLER, Rob 0-1). Fouled out--Shenandoah-ONUNAKU, Onyie, Ferrum-None. Rebounds-Shenandoah 43 (LAWRENCE, Jeremiah 15), Ferrum 37 (HOLLEY, Ken 9). Assists-Shenandoah 10 (RHONE, Chris 5), Ferrum 15 (JOHNSON, Kenny 8). Total fouls-Shenandoah 19, Ferrum 20. A-274 -- USA South Athletic Confrence Game