DURHAM, N.C.  - The Shaw offense sputtered - scoring its first points with 1.3 seconds left in the game - as the Bears fell to Johnson C. Smith 35-20 in the Bears' homecoming game played at Durham County Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Bears did get two touchdowns prior to the last-second score - both from Darnell Evans.  The cornerback returned an interception 35 yards for the first touchdown of the game, then reeled off a 90-yard kickoff return for Shaw's second touchdown.

"Give them (JCSU) credit.  They played well and they stopped us," said Shaw head coach Robert Massey.  "But it wasn't just the offense struggling.  Our defense gave up big plays.  Johnson C. Smith had way too many rushing yards.  We just didn't play well."

With the loss, the Bears drop to 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the CIAA.  JCSU improves to 4-4 with an identical 3-2 record in conference.  The loss effectively ends any hope Shaw had of claiming the CIAA's Southern Division title.

Had the Bears won today, next Saturday's game against Winston-Salem State would have been a battle for the top of the Southern Division standings.  "I hope we weren't looking ahead," said Massey.  "We knew we had to get this one.  Next week's game doesn't mean anything without this win.  Now we just have to go out and play spoiler."

The Golden Bulls stopped the Bears by essentially shutting down running back Marquise Grizzle, who ran for only 26 yards - after averaging nearly 150 yards a game the last three games.

"He's a freshman and will continue to improve.  But they're game planning for him now and we've got to find ways to get him into open field."

For the second straight year, the homecoming crowd went home without a win as the Golden Bulls defeated the Bears last season as well.

"It's a big game, with all the alumni coming back," said Massey.  "The one game you want to win as a coach is Homecoming.  We have to finish strong so we can win back the alumni."

Both offenses struggled in the first half.  After Shaw's opening drive went only 29 yards, it was the Shaw defense that got the first score of the game when Evans intercepted a Keahn Wallace pass and returned it 35 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Johnson C. Smith's lone scoring drive in the first half was also keyed by a strong defensive play.  With 9:32 left on the clock, James Stallons was picked off by Kerry Hartley and returned for 22 yards to the Shaw 19.  Two plays later, Wallace connected with Matthew Jeffries for an eight-yard touchdown catch.  The half would end with the 7-7 tie.

At the half, neither team had even 150 yards on offense.  JCSU had 141 yards while Shaw managed only 133 - 123 of those on the arm of Stallons. 

On their second drive of the second half, the Bears went three and out, but the punt was blocked by Kerry Hartley and recovered at the Shaw 15.  Three plays later, Wallace again connected with Jeffries to give the Golden Bulls a 14-7 lead.

Two plays later, Grizzle fumbled on the Shaw 39 and Johnson C. Smith' Jabari Carney recovered, giving the Golden Bulls another short field.  The subsequent four-play drive ended with Dedric Anderson rushing for the 14-yard touchdown and a 21-7 JCSU lead.

The fourth quarter began with the Golden Bulls on the Shaw 13 and on the first play of the fourth, Wallace hit Jimmy Drye for the 13-yard touchdown pass and a 28-7 lead.

The Shaw fans regained some hope on the next play, as Evans took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 90 yards for a Shaw touchdown and a 28-14 score. 

The Golden Bulls responded with their longest drive of the game.  Starting with a 30-yard Anderson rush, the drive covered 70 yards in seven plays and ended with a Wallace keeper for the one-yard touchdown run and a 35-14 JCSU lead.

With 1:59 remaining in the game, Shaw got the ball on their own 42 and immediately had a 22-yard Stallons pass completion to Antonio Dunn.  Stallons hit Dunn twice more, then - with 1.3 seconds left on the clock - Dunn rushed one yard to close out the scoring.  The two-point attempt was no good, setting the final score at 35-20 in favor of the visiting Golden Bulls.

Stallons finished the afternoon 20 for 37 with one interception for 238 yards.  In the first quarter, Stallons broke the single season passing mark, and now has 2,277 yards on the season.  The previous record, set in 2005, was 2,105 yards set by Jermonty Kimbrough.  Evans finished the game with the most all-purpose yards with his interception and kick returns totalling 125 yards.  Dunn finished the game with 13 yards rushing and 62 receiving.

Defensively, the Bears were led by Oscar Petty who had ten tackles - eight of them solo - including two tackles for a loss and a sack.  Keith Lomon finished the game with nine tackles.

Wallace finished the game with 147 yards on a 13 for 24 performance.  He gave up one interception and had three touchdowns.  Anderson had 185 yards with one touchdown.  Jeffries was the leading receiver with five catches for 90 yards.

On defense, the Golden Bulls were led by Chris Sames, who had eight tackles and a pass break up.  Quintel Talton had five tackles, with 3.5 of them for a loss and one pass break up.

The Bears now look ahead to the second-ranked Winston-Salem State Rams coming to town.  The Rams are undefeated this season and a strong favorite in next week's televised contest.

" We're playing a good team and we've got to be the spoiler," said Massey.  "Winston is obviously in the driver's seat, but let's knock them off.  We played them fairly decently last season. We want to finish with a winning record."

The Bears will take on the Rams at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, October 27 at Durham County Memorial Stadium.  It is Senior Day for Shaw and the football seniors will be honored before the contest.