SHEPHERDSTOWN, Pa. – The IUP men's basketball program was unable to close the gap, falling to Shepherd 68-57 Friday evening. 
 
Freshman Kymani Merraro led the team with 17 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. He also contributed two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Damir Brooks played nearly 40 minutes, shooting 4-for-7 from the field, grabbing 11 rebounds, and recording a steal. Both Sarp Furton and Ian Herring tallied two steals each.
 
IUP struggled offensively, shooting 36.8% from the field and 23.5% from beyond the arc, while Shepherd shot 50.0% from the field. Shepherd made 38 points in the first half compared to IUP's 27 and both teams scored 30 in the second. 
 
The game started with Tyler Grove hitting a three-pointer from the left wing off a pass from Merraro. Grove's second three-pointer pulled the Hawks within three at 12:53. 

However, the Rams answered with a series of three-pointers and a layup, extending their lead to 21-12. 
 
Brooks added two dunks at the six and three-minute mark. A jumper by Christian Moore with 45 seconds left trimmed the lead to eight, but a foul by Merraro resulted in three made free throws for Shepherd, closing the half at 38-27.
 
In the second half, Grove opened the scoring with a layup, followed by a Merraro three-pointer off an offensive rebound. Three missed three-point attempts by IUP allowed Shepherd to extend their lead to 18 points at the 13:34 mark. 

Herring and Brooks added a set of made free throws. IUP slowly trimmed their trail to just four points with 8:09 on the clock. 
 
A four-minute scoring drought ended with a clutch three-pointer from Alfonso Pickens Jr., narrowing the gap to seven points. However, IUP couldn't regain momentum, scoring only in the final 30 seconds while Shepherd extended their lead to 11 points. Two late free throws from Merraro closed the game, but IUP fell short, losing 68-57.

Up Next 
IUP travels to West Chester, Pa. on Saturday, December 7 to matchup against West Chester at 3:00 p.m.
 
Follow 
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP men's basketball on X (Twitter) @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.