[Savannah, GA] -  Shaw hit critical buckets at the wire and held on to a close win against Georgia College 67-63 at the Wingate By Wyndham Holiday Classic hosted by Armstrong Atlantic.   Both teams were 7-2 coming into the contest.  Shaw now improves to 8-2 on the season while Georgia drops to 7-3.

With 2:52 left in the game, Georgia's Bobcats finally overcame a late Shaw lead to tie the score, but Shaw outscored Georgia 6-2, staving off numerous Bobcat attempts to tie the game.

Shaw won the game in the paint on the offensive side of the court.  Despite being outrebounded 28-23, the Bears were able to power inside for 40 points in the paint.  On the defensive side, they held the Bobcats to only 24 inside points.

The Bears also won the battle at the free throw line.  Both teams shot well, but the Bears sank ten of their 11 attempts, while the Bobcats hit only eight of their 11 shots.

For much of the first half, the Bears held off a hard-charging Georgia College squad.  Junius Chaney - who had 16 points in the first half alone - sank a layup with 15:40 left in the first to give the Bears a five-point, 8-3 lead.

With 13:26 left in the first, Georgia's Jared Holmes sank a three from the left wing to cut the Shaw lead to two, but even after a Shaw turnover, the Bobcats could not convert on the opportunity to tie the game.

The Bobcats would eventually cut the Shaw lead to one, but Curtis Hines hit two unanswered threes, giving the Bears their largest lead of the half at 23-16.

Over the next three minutes, Georgia outscored the Bears 8-2, cutting the Shaw lead to one, but strong Bear defense kept the Bobcats from taking the lead.

With 4:02 left in the half, Quin Bivins hit a three for Georgia to give the Bobcats a two-point lead.  Chaney hit a jumper in the paint to tie the game, but the Bobcats would score four straight to built a 39-35 lead.

Chaney would close out the scoring in the half with another layup, cutting the Georgia lead to only two at the half.

The fortunes were reversed for the first ten minutes of the second half.  Georgia built a lead of six points, then battled to keep Shaw from tying the score or taking a lead - often making a critical stop on a drive that might have tied the game.

With 12:14 left in the game, Tarrence Chatman sank one of two free throws to give the Bobcats a five-point lead.

The Bears found some offensive steam at that point, reeling off nine unanswered points, punctuated by a layup from Hines that gave the Bears a 53-49 lead.

Now it was Shaw's turn to do on the defensive, trying to keep the Bobcats from getting a critical bucket.  For seven minutes, the Bears held on to the lead, but with 2:52 left in the game, Holmes hit a jumper on the fast break that tied the game at 61.

Latrail McCoy answered with a jumper in the paint that gave the Bears the two-point lead - a lead they would never relinquish.  Malik Alvin scored the final four points in the game - balanced against a pair of free throws from Georgia - for the 67-63 final.

Chaney finished the game with 20 points, and Hines had 19.  Alvin tossed in another 15 for the Bears.  Alvin also had five rebounds to lead the Bears while Tony Smith's five assists paced the squad.

Ryan Aquino led the way for the Bobcats with 18 points.  Holmes added another 15 and Scott Ferguson 12.  Ferguson had a double-double, adding 11 rebounds to his performance.  Holmes had four assists to lead Georgia.

The Bears return home January 7 when they take on Virginia State in a 4:00 p.m. tip.  That afternoon is "Bring a Kid To The Game" where two children will be admitted free for each paid adult admission.