After trailing by 10 points early in the second half, Seton Hill roared back behind Samuel Tabe, who scored 14 points in the second half, and a defense that held Shepherd to 23 percent shooting after halftime, as the Griffins rallied for a 69-59 victory over the Rams.

Shepherd was the hot team from the floor in the first half, as they shot 57 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Rams scored seven in a row early to build an 18-9 lead. Sean Dillon answered for SHU with a three and a lay-in, but that was answered with a quick 9-2 spurt by Shepherd to extend their advantage to 27-16 with 9:36 left in the half. The Rams' lead hovered around double figures for most of the half until Ryan Meis scored the final seven points of the period for Seton Hill and his lay-up with 19 seconds left helped bring the Griffins within 36-27 going into halftime.

To open the second half, a three-point play by Miles Monchecourt was followed by consecutive buckets for Shepherd and their lead stood at 40-30 with 18:36 to play. That's when the Griffin comeback began, as Jimmy Moon knocked down a jumper, Tabe canned two foul shots and Dillon hit a three to make it a 40-37 margin.

Shepherd broke the spell with a basket and after Monchecourt scored on the other end, that's when Tabe took control. He scored the next 10 points for Seton Hill and 12 of the next 14, as the Griffins turned a five-point deficit into a 53-44 lead after Tabe scored on a lay-up with five minutes to play. Then Meis heated up with a three and lay-up and SHU had their largest lead of the game at 58-45 with 2:39 remaining.

After scoring just nine points in the first 17+ minutes of the second half, the Rams knocked down consecutive treys to get back within seven points. But the Griffins would clinch the win at the foul line, as they made 11-of-14 free throws in the closing minutes. Drew Green made the most of his attempts, sinking 7-of-8, and Seton Hill closed out the 2021 calendar year with the victory.

Tabe was the game's high scorer, as he made 7-of-11 from the floor to score 18 points and he added a pair of steals. Meis had a big hand with 13 markers, Monchecourt chipped in with 12 and Dillon posted 11 points and six assists. Green's efforts at the foul line gave him  nine points and Moon scored six while leading the efforts on the glass with 10 boards.

Seton Hill is now off for the holiday break and will return to action on Jan. 5, 2022, with a road trip to Shippensburg for an 8 pm tip-off.