Bears Athletics-Bears Hold Off ECSU For 76-72 Win

Shaw Holds Off Elizabeth City State 76-72

Darryl Johnson and Raheem Smith Score 20 Each

Raheem Smith puts up a shot against ECSU. He had 20 points on the night, leading the Bears to a 76-72 win over ECSU. (Elizabeth City, NC) – With the conference’s second leading scorer on the bench with foul trouble, Shaw turned to Raheem Smith and Darryl Johnson to hold off a powerful Elizabeth City State squad. Both responded – Smith with 20 points, and Johnson with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds – and Shaw held on to beat the Vikings 76-72.

With the win, Shaw moves to 4-0 on the season, with all of the games in conference. ECSU falls to 3-3, 1-2 in the CIAA.

The game was whistle filled – a total of 56 fouls that led to 71 free throws – and the quick whistles took their toll on Rodney Callwood, the CIAA Player of the Week, who had been averaging 24.0 points per game.

Both Smith and Johnson took on the scoring load, with Johnson – who had been averaging ten points per game – perhaps surprising the most people.

Darryl Johnson hits a jumper - two of his 20 points against ECSU. He also had 12 rebounds on the night for a solid double-double. “Darryl (right) did what we asked him to do,” said Shaw Head Coach Cleo Hill, Jr. “He’s a Division I quality player. This is a season of sacrifice for many of the players – there is so much talent that they don’t all get a chance to shine as much as they would like.”

Eight Bears played more than ten minutes in the game, with only Smith playing every minute.

“This is the deepest team I’ve ever coached,” said Hill. “When we have to call on them, they’re ready. They’re hungry for the opportunity.”

The first half was a seesaw affair for the first 15 minutes. During that time, the teams were tied six times and the lead changed hands four. Neither team could take more than a five-point lead.

With five minutes left, Marquie Cooke’s layup tied the game at 25 – the last tie of the first half. For the next three and a half minutes, Shaw went on a 11-2 run, balancing scoring by four different Bears.

Darryl Johnson’s jumper for the Bears at 1:44 gave them their half-high lead of nine. The Vikings then shut out the Bears for the rest of the half, putting the halftime tally at 37-32.

Shaw built that first half lead by taking advantage of ECSU miscues. While ECSU had only one more turnover than Shaw, Shaw led in turnover scoring 15-7 at the half.

In the second half, ECSU turned the tables. While turning the ball over only four times, they forced 12 Shaw miscues which led to ten Viking points.

Even with the mistakes, Shaw allowed ECSU only one single-point lead, when C.J. Wright hit a layup to give the Vikings a 45-44lead with 14:27 to go. Fifteen seconds later, Marvin Harvey hit a pair of free throws to give Shaw back the lead.

The Bears would extend that lead to seven twice in the half, but the Vikings continued putting themselves back into the game, cutting the lead to two four more times.

Shaw did not hit a field goal after a Johnson jumper with 4:58 left in the game that made the score 65-61. During those last minutes, the Bears kept pounding the ball inside, drawing fouls from the Vikings. Shaw went 11 for 16 from the line in the last five minutes of the game.

With 20 seconds left in the game, ECSU’s Jermaine Abraham hit a layup to cut the Shaw lead to one. A free throw by Michael Smith gave the Bears a two-point lead, with ten seconds to go. With three seconds on the clock, Cooke missed a jumper that would have tied the game again.

The Vikings were forced to foul, and Raheem Smith hit two free throws to ice the game and reach the 76-72 tally.

While hampered with foul trouble, Callwood still hit double figures, scoring 14 points on the night. Johnson’s 12 rebounds led the Bears.

For the Vikings, Cooke had 24 points, Trent Bivens 19, and Quintin Spady 10. Cooke led ECSU with nine rebounds.

The Bears travel to Montevallo, AL for the Montevallo Classic on December 4 and 5.

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December 1, 2009