Bears Athletics - Bears Hold Off VSU 62-60

Shaw Gives Up 25-Point Lead, Hangs On To Beat VSU 62-60

(Etrick, VA) – Raheem Smith’s 20 points and Rodney Callwood’s 16 were almost not enough as Shaw gave up a 23-point halftime lead and barely held on to be Virginia State 62-60.

With a second left on the clock and a slim two-point Shaw lead, Darryl Johnson blocked Trey Mines’ layup attempt to seal the win for the Bears.

Shaw (7-5, 5-1 CIAA) built a 25-point lead with 17:01 left in the game, but saw that advantage dwindle to one point with under two minutes to play. VSU (1-12, 1-8 CIAA) employed an energetic full-court press in the second half, forcing Bear turnovers and holding Shaw to only take 15 shots in the second half.

The Bears further hurt their cause with poor free throw shooting, hitting only 17 of 32 for the game, including four key misses in the last 32 seconds.

The Bears scored eight points before letting the Trojans on the board to start the game, but neither team lit up the scoreboard as both teams played a deliberate half court offense. Each team took only 24 shots. While Shaw hit 14 of their shots, the Trojans struggled, hitting only five for 20.8%.

With 3:13 left on the clock, Jacobe Simpson hit a layup for the Trojans, cutting the Shaw lead to 25-12. The Bears then ran off 10 straight points to finish the half and give them the 25-12 lead.

With 17:01 left in the game, Callwood hit a jumper to the right side of the lane to give the Bears a 39-14 lead. The Bears did not score for another three minutes – and took only one shot during that time. The Trojans took advantage of the Shaw scoring drought, shaving 11 points off the lead before Smith hit a layup to give Shaw a 16-point lead, 41-25.

Over the next three minutes, the Trojans continued to whittle away at the lead, cutting it to eight on Mines’ fast break layup. Shaw stretched the lead back to 14 with a layup by Eric Pitts with 5:46 left in the game.

The Trojans outscored the Bears 14-1, cutting the Shaw lead to one on a Brandon Plummer three-pointer.

With 36 seconds left in the game, Mines hit a layup, cutting the Shaw lead to two. The Bear then missed three straight free throws before Smith hit one, giving the bears a three-point lead. Mines hit two from the charity stripe for the Trojans, again cutting the Shaw lead to one.

With 11 seconds left, Michael Smith hit one of two free throws for the Bears, giving them the two-point lead before Darryl Johnson blocked a Mines layup attempt to seal the

Only Smith and Callwood had double digit points for the Bears. Michael Devere led Shaw with five rebounds. Smith had four assists and four steals.

Mines had 19 points for the Trojans, and Brandon Macklin had 11. Macklin led the Trojans with four.

The Bears stay in the Richmond area for a game Monday against Virginia Union at 7:30. They return home on Saturday, January 16 to face off against Elizabeth City State at 7:30 p.m. in C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium.

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January 9, 2010