Lynchburg Lyn 9-5,3-2 ODAC

Shenandoah SU 6-9,1-5 ODAC

Lynchburg Lyn

9-5,3-2 ODAC

Final

Jan. 11, 2025

Shenandoah SU

6-9,1-5 ODAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Lynchburg Lyn	28	44	72
Shenandoah SU	19	49	68

Summary
Box Score

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/11/2025 10:58:00 PM | Matt McIntosh '23

Men's Basketball Falls Short Against Lynchburg, 72–68

WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah University men's basketball team dropped a closely contested ODAC matchup against Lynchburg University, 72–68, on Saturday afternoon at home.

Shenandoah (6–9, 1–5 ODAC) trailed by 14 points early in the second half but managed to rally and briefly took the lead, 58–57, on a three-pointer from Shamir Taylor with 5:03 remaining. The two ODAC Hornets traded leads in the final minutes before Lynchburg (9–5, 3–2 ODAC) closed out the game with a 7–3 scoring run in the final two minutes to secure the win.

RECAP

Both teams struggled offensively in the early minutes of the game before combining for nine points in a 65-second span, with Lynchburg taking a narrow 10–8 lead after a made three-pointer.

Lynchburg extended its advantage to five following another successful three-pointer, but Taylor responded with a three of his own to cut the deficit back to two. The visitors, however, quickly answered with another triple, pushing their lead back to five.

The visiting Hornets widened their advantage to nine points at halftime after holding Shenandoah to just eight points over the final 12 minutes of the first half.

In the second half, both teams improved offensively, shooting above 50% from the field after a challenging first half where Shenandoah shot just 29.6%.

Lynchburg continued to build its lead, reaching double digits before Taylor sparked a rally. The junior guard scored eight of the team's next 10 points, narrowing the deficit. A dunk by John Allen and a three-pointer from Kellen Tyson brought SU within four points.

Lynchburg once again pulled away, stretching the lead to 10 points. However, Shenandoah responded with a determined 14–3 run, fueled by Allen's third dunk of the game and capped by Taylor's three-pointer, which gave SU a 58–57 lead with just over five minutes remaining.

Taylor finished with a game-high and career-high 29 points, leading all scorers.

The teams exchanged leads in the final minutes, with key contributions from Gavin Bizyak and Landon Russ. However, after a tie at 58–58, Lynchburg capitalized on a missed Shenandoah shot, scoring on back-to-back possessions to go up by four.

Taylor made two clutch free throws to bring SU within two points with 42 seconds remaining. On the next defensive possession, SU forced a deep, contested three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer, but a foul was called, sending Lynchburg to the line for three free throws, which sealed the victory.