(Raleigh, NC) – With 24 seconds left in Shaw's game with Saint Augustine's, Raheem Smith hit a long three to tie the score at 64, but a single free throw for the Falcons and a mishandled inbounds pass for the Bears gave the Falcons the win.

To punctuate the victory, Nick Chamblee hit a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer which sent the Falcon fans onto their court in celebration and set the final score at 68-64.

With Saint Augustine's (5-10, 4-3 CIAA) shooting over 50 percent, Shaw (11-6, 4-4 CIAA) stayed in the game by outrebounding the Falcons 34-24 and turning that into 21 second chance points.  They also benefitted from the Falcons' struggle at the free throw line - where they hit only 12 for 21 attempts (57 percent).

The game was close throughout, with neither team managing to build a double-digit lead - Shaw's largest lead was six and Saint Augustine's was seven.   The game was tied 11 times.

By the mid-point of the first half, neither team had held even a four-point advantage.  With 9:15 left, Tony Smith hit a three-pointer for the Bears that gave them a five-point lead.  The two teams essentially exchanged buckets for the next six minutes, when Raheem Smith hit a three to extend the Shaw lead to six. 

Saint Aug scored the next six points, tying the game with 1:59 left when Joel Kindred hit a jumper off a pass from Chamblee.  With seven seconds left in the half, Jaime Boyer hit a pair of free throws to close out the scoring and send Shaw into the locker room with the 35-33 lead.

The Falcons opened the second half with a 10-2 run that gave them a 43-37 lead with 16:24 left when John Kindred hit a three.  The Bears answered with an 11-5 run that ended with Greg Thomas' layup and free throw that tied the score at 48 with 11:44 to go.

The Falcons scored the next six points, and stretched the lead to seven on Chamblee's three pointer with 7:36 left.  They extended the lead to seven after trading a Shaw two-pointer with a three of their own.

Shaw then took over six minutes to reel off a 10-3 scoring run - tying the game on Raheem Smith's three with only 24 seconds left on the clock.  With 5.8 seconds left, Darrell Glass hit one of two free throws, giving the Falcons a one-point lead. 

As the Bears brought the ball down court, the Falcons forced the ball out of bounds with 2.8 seconds on the clock.  The Bear inbound pass missed its target and Chamblee recovered the ball, launching it toward his bucket - three-fourths of the court away - as the buzzer sounded.  It went off the backboard and in, giving the Falcons the 68-64 win.

Raheem Smith, in his first game back after an ankle injury sidelined him for two games, had 22 points to lead the Bears.  Boyer had 11.  Tony Smith led the team with eight rebounds.

Chamblee finished with 20 points for the Falcons and led them in assists, as well, with five.  Chris Johnson had 14 and Joel Kindred had 12.  Glass and Chris Johnson had five rebounds apiece to lead Saint Aug.

The Bears are off until next Saturday, January 29, when they travel to Salisbury, NC to take on Livingstone.  Tip is 7:30 p.m.

Photos:  Jaime Boyer (left) sinks a jumper in the first half against the Falcons.  Raheem Smith (right) hits the three that tied the game with 24 seconds left in the game.