(Charlotte, NC) - Shaw overcame poor shooting in the first half, and found an inside game in the second on their way to a win over division rival Johnson C. Smith 76-70.  With the win - the Bears' fifth in a row -  Shaw remains tied atop the Southern Division of the CIAA.

Shaw (16-7, 9-5 CIAA, 4-2 Southern Division) and Johnson C. Smith (13-9, 9-5 CIAA, 2-5 Southern Division) battled evenly for the entire game, with the Golden Bulls only able to managed a double-digit lead once, while Shaw's lead never rose above the six points of the final tally.

In the first half, Shaw could only hit 11 of 32 (34.4 percent) field goal attempts, but improved to 56.3 percent (18 of 32) in the second.   Part of the improvement in shooting came with finding an inside game.  Shaw had only 12 points in the paint in the first, while they found their way inside for 24 in the second half.  On the evening, the Bears held the Golden Bulls to only 18 points in the paint.

From the start, the game was a close one.  While JCSU built an early five-point lead, Dwight Bell hit a layup and Raheem Smith a three for Shaw to tie the game at seven.

The Golden Bulls would build another lead - this one a six-point advantage with 13:16 left in the first - and the Bears again battled back, scoring six unanswered to again tie the game, this time at 13-13 with 10:32 left.

After JCSU's Delonta Boyd hit a layup to reclaim the lead, Shaw's Tony Smith hit a three that gave the Bears their first lead of the night, 16-15 with 7:52 left in the game. 

For the rest of the half, JCSU gained a slight advantage and took a four-point, 33-29, advantage into the locker room at the half.

The Golden Bulls opened the second half with four quick points, building an eight-point lead early.  Shaw would answer with four unanswered points of their own to trim the lead back to four.

With 15:49 left in the game, Darryl Johnson hit a jumper that cut the JCSU lead to only one, 39-38, but JCSU would again go on a short scoring run - this one for five points - to push the lead back to six points with 15:14 left.

Over the next seven and a half minutes, JCSU slowly added to their lead until, with 8:28 left in the game, Ronald Thornhill's three pointer gave the Golden Bulls a ten-point lead.

Over five minutes would go by before Johnson C. Smith scored again and in that time Shaw reeled off 13 points and built a three-point lead on Tony Smith's layup. 

The Golden Bulls would cut the Shaw lead to one on two different occasions, but after James Otey hit a pair of free throws for JCSU to cut the Shaw lead to 66-65, Tony Smith hit a trey and Jamar Hosier drove a slam dunk home to put the lead at six and send many at Brayboy Gymnasium for the doors.

Thornhill would hit another three to cut the lead to three, but the Golden Bulls could get no closer, and free throws from Greg Thomas and Devon Mclendon for Shaw would put the final score at 76-70.

Tony Smith had 22 points to lead the Bears while Mclendon had 20 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double.  He also led the Bears in assists with three.

Thornhill led all scorers with 23, while Trevin Parks had 16 and Boyd had 11.  Boyd added ten rebounds for a double-double of his own.  Parks had eight assists to pace the Golden Bulls.

On Saturday, the Bears host Fayetteville State at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.  Tipoff is 8:00 p.m. 

Photos:  Tony Smith (left) had 22 points, and Devon Mclendon (right) had 20 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double.