Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PORTSMOUTH — Shawnee State played well in its conference opener. So did Conor Markins.

Is there a correlation?

The Shawnee State Bears played well but lost in their conference opener to unbeaten and 18th ranked Campbellsville 71-62 as former Coal Grove All-Ohio standout Conor Markins had a solid performance off the bench.

The Bears’ 6-foot-1 freshman went 3-of-8 from the field including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. He also had a steal and a rebound in 14 minutes of work.

Campbellsville led 31-26 at the half and went on an 18-2 run to begin the second half for a 41-28 lead.

But Ethan Moffatt scored five straight points and Markins buried back-to-back 3-pointers and Nick Gouch had a layup to cut the deficit to 48-46.

The Bears trailed 64-62 with 2:39 to play but failed to score again.

Shawnee State is now 3-3 overall on the season. Campbellsville is now 5-0.