PORTSMOUTH, Ohio --- Dara Olonade provided a spark off the bench with 13 points and nine rebounds while Kyonze Chavis matched his score, but a Life U layup attempt as time expired did not drop, seeing the Life University men's basketball team's upset bid on the road at No. 6 Shawnee State come up inches short, 69-67, Saturday afternoon in Mid-South Conference play.

Life U (3-2, 0-2 MSC) held a one point lead through the first 20 minutes of play on the road at sixth-ranked Shawnee State (5-2, 1-1 MSC), relying on efficient shooting from behind the arc during the first half at 6-for-14 (42.9%) to keep the Bears on their back foot. Champ Dawson and Olonade led the Running Eagles through the opening frame, both scoring seven points and grabbing three boards. The lead traded hands six times during the first half, neither team able to take control of the game before an Olonade layup put the Running Eagles on top 38-37 headed into the half.

Coming out of the break, Life U held the game's momentum, taking its largest lead of the contest, 47-40, off a Chavis three ball with 15:41 to go in the game. Life U finally lost its lead with 9:50 to go in the game, tying it back up shortly after, but never retaking the advantage. The team found themselves in a nine point hole with 2:23 to go in the game, 69-60, but did not allow another Shawnee State score, furiously charging back to get back into the game. A Jordan Hernandez deep ball followed by an Olonade dunk cut the deficit to four points, while a successful trip to the charity stripe by Hernandez shortened the lead further to two points with less than a minute to play. Olonade collected the rebound off a missed Shawnee State free throw to give Life U one chance following a timeout off an inbounds play with less than 10 seconds to play. The team got the ball in to Cam Horton, who attempted a layup as time expired, but the shot did not drop sealing the loss 69-67.

Four players broke into double-digit scoring for Life U led by Olonade's near double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Chavis matched him with 13 points of his own, while Hernandez and Horton both chipped in 10 points of their own. Hernandez five rebounds and four assists to his totals, and Horton stuffed the stat sheet with four boards, two assists, a block, and two steals.

Both team's shot rather well on the day, Shawnee State holding a slight edge, shooting 28-for-63 (44.4%) compared to Life U's 25-for-65 (38.5%), while the Running Eagles held a strong advantage on shots from deep at 10-for-23 (43.5%) compared to the Bears' 3-for-12 (25.0%). Life U found plenty of opportunities in space, but allowed the Bears to take the advantage in the paint, trailing in points in the paint 42-22, and rebounds 31-26.

The men take some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday before getting back into the thick of things with a home conference match against the University of Pikeville Thursday, December 2nd at 8 PM.