[Raleigh, NC] - After a furious first ten minutes - where Shaw took a 24-20 lead over Virginia Union - the two teams settled into a defensive battle, with Shaw squeaking out a 63-60 win after both teams went cold with just under three minutes remaining in the game played at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium Monday night.

With 2:43 left in the game, Virginia Union's Terrell Arnold hit a pair of free throws to tie the game for the fifth time.  Neither team scored for over a minute, when Shaw's Tony Smith hit a layup to give Shaw back the lead.  With eight seconds left, Union's Calvin Brown hit the first of two free throw attempts.  VUU came up with the rebound on the second, but a shot missed the mark and the Bears got the rebound.

With less than a second left on the clock, Juan Wilson fouled Shaw's Junius Chaney - who hit both of his free throws to give Shaw the final 63-60 win.

"We've got a very good team," said Shaw head coach Cleo Hill, Jr.  "But the wins are not going to be easy.  It's good that we can tough out a good win and I attribute that to the tough non-conference schedule we played."

Three Bears scored in double figures, with another five tallying at least a point. 

"We're pushing for balance," said Hill.  "We're offensively gifted and I'm not sure it's possible to take away everything.  We have so many guys who can score and shoot the ball."

The win is the sixth in the row for the Bears, who improve to 10-2 on the season, 2-0 in the CIAA.  Virginia Union falls to 6-9, 1-2 in the conference.

The two teams went hard and fast in the opening minutes of the game.  With 9:33 left in the first, Devon Mclendon tipped in a missed shot to give the Bears a 26-20 lead.  The Bears would not score again for more than three minutes - and the Panthers scored only once in that time.

With Shaw leading 28-21, Virginia Union went on a scoring streak - tallying ten straight points - to take a 31-28 lead.  Shaw would trim the Panther lead to one, but go to the locker room at the half trailing 33-32.

Mclendon opened the scoring in the second, hitting a jumper in the lane to give the Bears a lead, but that only began a see-saw battle for the rest of the half.

After the Panthers scored five straight points to take a four-point lead, Shaw scored seven straight to retake the lead at 41-38.

The Bears would build the lead to six points when Mclendon hit a layup, was fouled, and made the single free throw to give Shaw the 54-48 lead with 8:47 left in the game.

Virginia Union would then make their last real scoring run, scoring seven unanswered points to reclaim the lead 55-54. 

Chaney hit a jumper in the paint to give Shaw back the lead with 5:56 to go.  While Union would tie the score again with 2:43 left, the Bears never gave up the lead, finally finishing with the 63-60 tally.

Malik Alvin led the Bears with 17 points and Latrail McCoy had 16.  Mclendon finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.  Smith led the Bears with ten rebounds and four assists.

Calvin Brown led the Panthers with 24 points and Damion Harris added another 15.  Juan Wilson and Wesley Simmons each had eight assists to pace their squad.  Brown led VUU with four assists.

Thursday, the Bears take on the 15th ranked Bowie State Bulldogs in a contest that begins at 8:00 p.m.  at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.  The game is the second half of a doubleheader with the Lady Bears, and patrons are encouraged to arrive early to ensure a seat in the gym.  Doors for the doubleheader open at 5:00 p.m.