[DURHAM, NC] - While there may be no such thing as a moral victory, many Shaw fans left fabled Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night feeling good about their squad despite an 80-66 exhibition loss to Division I's sixth ranked Duke.
Bear head coach Cleo Hill, Jr., saw some good things in his squad as well, "Overall, I thought we executed well. We wanted to really get out in transition. Duke is a very solid transition team. We were pleased in what we carried out. I just think in the end, size made a difference."
Hill believes the game, despite the loss, will give a boost to the team's confidence as they prepare for the upcoming CIAA season. "I think it will have a positive impact as soon as all of our players get on the court. We have a couple of players injured. I think knowing that we can play with a team with a history like Duke and lose by 14 will help them. We can always go back during the season and take a look at this game and say you are not going to play against anybody in our conference with this kind of size one through 15."
Four Shaw scorers hit double figures for the Bears with Tony Smith (left), Malik Alvin (right) and Mohammed Abdur-Rahim notching 13 apiece. Junius Chaney added another 12.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski took particular notice of Alvin and Smith and predicted good things for the Bears as they head into conference play. "This was a really good game for us. [Head coach] Cleo [Hill Jr.] does a great job with his team. That pair of guards is really good - Alvin and Smith. They could play for a lot of teams in Division I. They're older, experienced, can really handle the ball. I think they'll be really good in their league."
Krzyzewski and the Cameron Crazies had reason to be impressed with the Bears.
After allowing the Blue Devils to jump to a 6-0 lead, the Bears fought back. Keyed in large part by two Abdur-Rahim jumpers, the Bears went on an 11-5 run to tie the score at 11.
With the score tied at 13, Duke rotated its lineup, bringing in five new players, including Andre Dawkins who hit three three-pointers that helped Duke extend their lead to 24-15 with 12:10 left in the first half.
Over the next six minutes, the Blue Devils slowly extended their lead until, with 6:49 left in the half, Dawkins hit yet another three to make the score 39-29. For the rest of the half, neither team found a strong advantage and Shaw went to the locker room down 49-38.
In the second half, Duke seemed to find a defensive strategy to shut down both guards. After scoring nine and ten points, respectively, in the first, Alvin and Smith managed only a handful of points in the second.
Duke never let Shaw within ten in the second, and slowly added to their lead. With 5:20 left in the game, Josh Hairston collected the rebound of an Austin Rivers missed layup and tipped it in to give the Blue Devils a 75-55 lead.
Abdur-Rahim hit a layup to trim the lead, then the Bears began to find some offensive and defensive footing, trimming the lead to 14 with a jumper from Chaney with only 14 seconds left on the clock.
The Bears struggled finding a shooting touch from the floor, fighting to shoot around the much taller Duke squad. On the evening, the Bears shot 45.6 percent from the floor, while hitting 37.5 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
Duke struggled from the free throw line, hitting only 11 of 24 attempts for 45.8 percent. From the floor, the Blue Devils were 31 for 58 for 53.4 percent.
In addition to his 13 points, Smith had seven rebounds to lead the Bears. Eddie Dawson and Smith had three assists apiece to pace the team.
Ryan Kelly led the Blue Devils with 15 points, while Mason Plumlee had 14. Dawkins finished with 12, as did Austin Rivers and Seth Curry.
The Bears return to action Saturday, November 12 when they host Barber Scotia in their first game of the season. Game time is 7:00 p.m. at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium on Shaw's campus. (NOTE: Game was originally scheduled for 4:00 p.m. that day, but has been moved to 7:00 p.m.)
