[Winston-Salem, NC] - Five Shaw players scored in double figures and Devon Mclendon had a double-double on the way to a 76-60 victory over Winston-Salem State in a game at C.E. Gaines Gymnasium.
With the win, #12 Shaw improves to 20-2 on the season. They remain undefeated in CIAA play with 12 wins overall and six within the division. Winston-Salem State falls to 17-5, 9-3 in the CIAA and 3-3 within the southern division.
The 20 wins before the mid-point of February is a complete reversal of the program that Shaw head coach Cleo Hill, Jr. took over three and a half years ago.
"From my playing days to my coaching days, I always seem to come into situations that are in transition," said Hill. "It comes natural to me to rebuild. You have to bring a different mentality to the situation and our players and coaches have brought that mindset to this."
Shaw built on a strong defensive performance in the first half, holding the Rams to only 17 points on 16 percent shooting.
For a team that has struggled defensively at times throughout the season, that performance left Hill with few complaints after the game.
"I have no complaints about our defense," Hill said. "I think we did a good job forcing them into tough shots. Unfortunately, after having a good defensive stand, we didn't always get in position to get the rebound. We've got to put them together."
After building a 36-17 halftime lead, the Bears let the Rams score nine unanswered points and trim the Shaw lead to only ten.
"I knew it was coming," Hill said of the Ram offensive charge. "We're spurt-y. We play offense well and we play defense well, but we don't put them together. I know it's coming, I just have to figure out a way to deal with it."
The Bear defense held the Rams to only 28.8 percent shooting on the night, but forced only ten turnovers. Shaw outrebounded WSSU 44-41, but the Rams collected 22 offensive rebounds, scoring one-third of their points on second chances.
Shaw opened the game by keeping the Winston-Salem State fans on their feet for nearly the first five minutes. The tradition at Gaines Gymnasium is for fans to stand until the Rams score their first points.
Neither team lit it on fire in those opening moments. When Stephon Platt hit a jumper with 15:19 left in the first, the Ram fans got to take a seat, but the Bears were only up 5-2.
With 14:05 left in the game, WSSU cut the Shaw lead to 7-5, but Karron Johnson tipped in a missed Malik Alvin shot and started a 14-point scoring run that gave the Bears a 21-5 lead.
The Rams would cut the lead to 14, but with 1:56 left in the half, Alvin hit a layup to give the Bears a 36-15 lead. The Rams would sink a pair of free throws to go to the locker room trailing Shaw 36-17.
In the second, the Rams came out of the locker room hot and quickly trimmed the Shaw lead to ten, but throughout the second half, WSSU could never cut their deficit to fewer than ten points.
With 12:36 left in the game, Justin Glover's fastbreak layup cut the Shaw lead to ten, but Tony Smith answered with a three to again extend the Shaw advantage.
Leading by 12 with 10:32 left in the game, Shaw's Mohammed Abdur-Rahim scored four points and, coupled with a single free throw from Mclendon, the Bears built the lead to 16.
"Mohammed is someone who has had his struggles this season, but I knew he would come along late and that's what he's doing," Hill said.
The teams played evenly throughout the rest of the game, with the Rams never getting closer than 12 and the Bears never hitting a 20-point margin.
Alvin had 19 points to lead all scorers. Tony Smith had 11 and Johnson, Mclendon and Adbur-Rahim had ten points apiece. Mclendon's 11 rebounds topped both squads. Alvin led the Bears with four assists.
Glover had 15 points for the Rams, with WyKevin Bazemore adding 14 and Joe Thompson ten. Thompson added ten rebounds for a double-double.
The Bears return home Monday, February 13 when they host JCSU. Tip for that contest is at 8:00 p.m. at C. C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.
