Bears Basketball - Shaw Falls at Livingstone

Shaw Falls At Livingstone 53-49 After Second Half Meltdown

(Salisbury, NC) – Despite a 12-point halftime lead, Shaw lost to Livingstone 53-49, after scoring only 11 points on four-for-20 shooting in the second half.

Shaw (10-8 overall, 7-4 CIAA, 0-1 in the division) sailed to a strong halftime lead on 51.5 percent shooting from the field and strong rebounding. In the second, the team could not find a shooting stroke from the field, and only went to the free throw line twice, compared to Livingstone’s (9-8, 6-5, 1-0) 11.

Fortunately for the Bears, the Blue Bears could not find their stroke from the free throw line, hitting only seven of the 17 they attempted. Shaw was five for seven from the line.

In the first, Livingstone jumped to a quick six-point lead, but Shaw fought back, and with 13:11 left in the period, Rodney Callwood drained a jumper to give Shaw a 13-12 lead. Livingstone took the lead back, but a minute later Callwood slashed to the basket for two to give the Bears a 19-16 lead.

The Blue Bears were unable to regain the lead the rest of the half, and Shaw ran off the last seven points of the period to build a 12-point halftime lead, 38-26.

Shaw went scoreless for over five minutes to start the second, but the Blue Bears did not take immediate advantage of the scoring drought. In those same five-plus minutes, Livingstone had scored only five points. Callwood’s layup with 14:41 left lengthened the Shaw lead to seven.

Seven minutes later, Livingstone’s Henry Greg dunked, punctuating a 10-3 run for the Blue Bears, and tying the game at 43. It would be over two minutes more before either team scored, when Megail Cannon’s jumper gave Livingstone their first lead in the half.

With 1:11 left in the game, Callwood hit a layup to cut the Shaw deficit to two, 49-47, but Livingstone hit a bucket and later made one of two free throws to put the game out of reach.

Callwood led the Bears with 22 points. Darryl Johnson had a double-double with ten points and 13 rebounds. Michael Smith led Shaw with seven assists. Shaw floor general Raheem Smith, who had been out for nearly three weeks with a high ankle sprain, returned to action with three points in limited playing time.

Ronney Freeman led the Blue Bears with 12 points, while Cannon had 11 and Aaron Caruthers ten. Cannon led Livingstone with eight rebounds.

After three games on the road, the Bears return home on Saturday, January 30, 2010 against Fayetteville State at 7:30 in C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium. Monday, they play host to cross-town rival Saint Augustine’s.

[box score]

January 28, 2010