Basketball Recap: Ziekus Garner Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Shepherd

Livingston posted their biggest win since December 17, 2024 on Friday. They put the hurt on the Shepherd Pirates with a sharp 77-55 victory. The Lions pushed the score to 69-38 by the end of the third, a deficit the Pirates cut but never quite recovered from.

Livingston's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ziekus Garner, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten steals. The dominant performance gave Garner a new career-high in steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Cory Dirden, who dropped a triple-double on 16 points, ten rebounds, and ten steals.

Despite the defeat, Shepherd saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Brayden White dropped a double-double on 33 points and 14 boards. White's evening made it nine games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Nicholas Singletary, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and nine assists.

Livingston is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season. As for Shepherd, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 16-12.

Livingston didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 58-56 victory against Tarkington on the 14th. As for Shepherd, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 68-49 loss against Hardin-Jefferson on the 14th.