the drought is over!
Bears Hold On To
Beat Blue Bears
January 26, 2008 – Raleigh, NC – The Shaw University Bears took on the Livingstone College Blue Bears. The drought is indeed over as Shaw snapped a nine game losing streak after surviving seven lead changes to secure an 80 -76 home court win over the Blue Bears.
Livingstone leaped on the scoreboard first with a fast break lay-up by #1 Tayloe Taylor. The Bears took their first lead of the game with an offensive spark via #20 Robert “And One” Espinosa (Forward / 6 – 7 / 195 / Senior / Plainfield, NJ). Shaw led 9 – 4 after Espinosa produced two scores and then passed to #30 Damola “Mr. Post Man” Obadina (Forward / 6 – 5 / 240 / Senior / Minneapolis, MN) for the lay-up. Livingstone tied the score at 9 – 9 with a deep drain and a couple of made free throws. The contest’s second tie occurred at the 4:15 with the score 22 – 22 as the third tie stood at 25 – 25 just seconds later with two made free throws by Livingstone’s #32 Durrell Baker. For the remainder of the half, the score would be equally yoked on three additional occasions. The Bears made 12 of 30 attempted field goals (40.0%) as the Blue Bears made one field goal less and the same number of field goal attempts for 36.7%. Shaw’s Obadina and Espinosa combined for 23 of the Bears’ 30 points in the first half. Despite Espinosa’s 12 and Obadina’s 11, Livingstone led 31 – 30 at the break.
At the beginning of second half, the Bears and Blue Bears continued to swap an assorted selection of shots. The Bears trailed by one until Livingstone’s #11 Ivan Jackson swished the nets with his first successful three-pointer to give the Blue Bears a 52 – 49 lead. However, Head Coach Robert Brickey made a key substitution just prior to the shot as #21 Brandon “Game Time” Greene (Forward / 6 – 6 / 210 / Senior / Slidell, LA) bowed the heads of the opposing after he blocked a critical field goal attempted and then buried back-to-back three-pointers. Livingstone took a thirty second timeout with Shaw leading 54 – 52. Then Shaw’s offensive torch was past back to living legend Espinosa as he completed a three point play and then successfully stepped behind the arc to give the Bears a 60 – 55 lead. The Blue Bears called for another timeout with 5:30 remaining in the game. Livingstone bucketed another three-pointer, but Shaw got a much needed three point play from #3 Jonathan Mudd (Guard / 6 – 1 / 170 / Sophomore / Miami, FL). The Bears led 72 – 65 with only sixty seconds remaining in the game. Shaw’s #10 Tyrone Bolden (Guard / 5- 11 / 195 / Junior / Cleveland, OH) and Mudd each made two free throws to lift the Bears to a 75 – 70 lead with 35 seconds on the game clock. With seven seconds left, the Blue Bears’ #23 Michael Duncan pulls up at the top of the key and banks in a three-pointer off the glass. Shaw’s Bolden buried three of four free throws in the closing seconds to help protect their point margin.
The Bears as four players to finish in double figures. Leading Shaw in scoring was #21 Robert Espinosa with a game and season high 21 points (game high seven rebounds / one assist / two blocks / two steals). Providing additional scoring was #30 Damola Obadina with 17 points (two rebounds), #3 Jonathan Mudd with 14 points (five rebounds / four assists), and #21 Brandon Greene who scored all of his 12 points (three rebounds / one block) in the second half.
The Shaw University Bears will travel to Richmond, VA on Tuesday, January 29th to take on the Panthers of Virginia Union University at 7:30 p.m.
