CHARLOTTE - Winston-Salem State brought an end to both Shaw's 21-game winning streak and their hopes of repeating as CIAA Champions by defeating the Bears 51-48 in a game played at Time Warner Cable Arena Friday night.

The Bears, 25-3 overall, committed 20 turnovers - only the second time this season they hit the 20 mark in turnovers.  The last time was December 13 against West Florida - the last loss the Bears had suffered.

"We had 20 turnovers to five assists," said Shaw head coach Cleo Hill, Jr.  "A ratio like that is not a good recipe if you want to keep on winning."

WSSU's recipe was to slow down Shaw's potent offense, holding them to fewer than 50 points for the first time this season.  Hill, though, said that the slower pace was not the problem.

"Teams have tried slowing the ball down - doing a three-quarter court press to a zone, and we don't have a problem playing like that," Hill said.  "Tonight we just didn't execute."

Hill did have a positive take on the loss, though.

"There's going to come a time when - after 20 or so straight wins - that these 18, 19, 20, even 23 and 24-year olds start thinking that they know more than the coaches,"  Hill said.  "I think we've got their immediate attention back right now."

Senior Tony Smith accepted the blame as his, despite leading both teams in scoring with 16.  "I didn't perform at the level I expect and I take full responsibility for the loss."

But he also focused his attention on Shaw's near-certain trip to the NCAA Tournament.  "We have to execute as a team and a unit.  Tonight we had mental lapses.  I give them (WSSU) a lot of credit, but going forward we've got to make the plays if we want to do what we set out to do."

The Rams held on after a frenzied final seconds.  CIAA rookie of the year WyKevin Bazemore made two free throws for a 51-48 lead with 19 seconds left. After a Shaw timeout, Smith committed a turnover for the Bears to give the Rams possession.

Justin Glover missed the front end of a one-and-one. CIAA player of the year Malik Allen lost the ball after dribbling down the sideline, but Bazemore traveled as he recovered the loose ball which gave possession back to the Bears with 0.2 seconds left.

Smith attempted a three pointer from the wing on an in-bounds pass, but the horn sounded before he got the shot off.

Smith of the Bears led all scorers with 16 points while Alvin added 13 points for the Bears, who scored no fastbreak points for the first time this season. Junius Chaney added nine points and four blocks.

Glover led the Rams with 12 points including nine in the second half. Joseph Thompson scored 11 points and Bazemore added 10 for the Rams, who were behind 41-34 with 9:10 left. Glover keyed the Rams' comeback, scoring seven points during a 9-1 run capped by a three-pointer to give the Rams a 43-42 lead, their first since late in the first half. During the run, Glover got up high for a spectacular one-handed alley-oop dunk which fired up his teammates and sparked the rally.

The Bears held a 24-22 halftime lead behind seven points from Chaney and six points from Smith. The lead at the break was the smallest in the three games played between the two divisional foes. The Bears led by 19 and 24 points at halftime in the previous meetings.

The Bears held a slim lead despite shooting a sizzling 56.3 percent from the floor including 5-for-9 from the three-point line for 55.6 percent. The Rams, led by seven points from Thompson, forced three more turnovers and held a 4-0 edge in offensive rebounding. Kimani Hunt and Wakefield Ellison both added five points for the Rams, who shot 34.8 percent.

Shaw opened a 14-9 lead on a layup by Chaney in the early moments, but the Rams came back to take the lead at 19-16 on a Stephon Platt layup. The Bears surge back ahead, scoring eight straight points capped by a Smith three-pointer with 37 seconds left. Hunt swished a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to trail by two at halftime.

The high-powered Bears entered the tournament as the favorite after one of their best regular seasons in school history. They had not lost a game since mid-December and 12 of their wins were by double figures.

This was the Bears seventh trip to the semifinals including their third in a row. They have advanced to the finals three times, winning the championship in 2002 and 2011.

 As the second ranked team in the region going into this tournament, the Bears are likely going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament which begins on Thursday, March 8.  The tournament selection show will be aired on www.ncaa.com at 10:30 p.m.