RALEIGH, N.C. — The Shaw Bears got a hot shooting hand Monday night and used it to steamroller visiting Lincoln (Pa.) 91-58 Monday night at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium. 

The Bears hit 33 of 47 shots from the floor for a 70.2 percentage rate, and their accuracy didn't suffer much when they ventured beyond the three-point arc, as the team hit eight of 13 shots (61.5 percent). 

"We worked on getting dribble penetration," said Shaw head coach Cleo Hill, Jr., "and we got some nice looks from the perimeter.  We wanted to take advantage of the dribble penetration and ball screens, and it worked."

Hill said he found little wrong with his team's performance Monday night.  "When you get a margin like this, it's difficult to critique.  If there's anything, we gave up 20 offensive rebounds.  Other than that, I have no complaints. "

Rebounding was the only area on the stat sheet where the Bears didn't dominate their opponents.  The Bears had 40 rebounds while allowing the Lion to haul in 32 of their own.

"I think we have a big team, but our starting lineup chemistry is small," said Hill.  "Our small unit seems to be working for us this year, which it hasn't in the past.  It is a concern with that.  As we go to the bench we get bigger.  We've been sticking with the small unit longer, so we have to figure that out."

The win is the Bears' eighth in a row and improves their record to 12-4, 6-0 in the CIAA.  Lincoln falls to 9-6, 2-4 in the conference.

Leading 8-4, Shaw went on a 10-point run, capped by a Latrail McCoy tip in of a Derrick Hunter shot to give the Bears an 18-4 lead with 11:49 left in the first.  Derrick Washington hit a layup for Lincoln to stop the Shaw run, but the Bears then responded with a 9-4 spurt, fueled by two threes from Curtis Hines and another from McCoy.

Lincoln then found their footing for a few minutes, trimming the Shaw lead to 13 on a three from Kenny Sharpe with 6:34 left in the first.  The shot cut the Shaw margin to 29-16.  That would be the last field goal the Lions would score in the half.

The Bears closed out the half on a 14-3 run - allowing Lincoln only three free throws - including 12 points scored in the paint.  With 36 seconds left in the half, the Lions' Wayne Newsome hit a free throw that closed out the scoring in the period.  Shaw went to the locker room with a 43-19 lead at the half.

Shaw built that lead on hot shooting, hitting 17 of 23 shots (73.9 percent) from the field and five of seven beyond the arc.  They shot the same number of free throws as threes - and hit one fewer (four of seven for 57.1 percent). 

Lincoln put up nine more shots than the Bears, but hit ten fewer, for a meager 21.9 percent shooting in the half.  They even struggled at the line, hitting only four of nine.

Justin Jackson opened the second half for Lincoln with a three, followed soon after by a layup from George Jackson, trimming the Shaw lead to 19 with 19:06 left in the game.  After Hunter hit a layup on a fast break, Justin Jackson hit another three to cut the Shaw lead to 45-27.

The Bears answered with a 19-7 run, capped by another three from Hines with 12:27 left in the game to give Shaw a 64-34 lead. 

Lincoln would trim that lead to 26, but Shaw answered with six straight points to push the lead over 30 again.  With 9:03 left in the game, Andre Paulk sank a pair of free throws to give Shaw a 72-40 lead.

After battling evenly for six minutes, Lincoln trimmed the Shaw lead to 28 on a Kyle Aiken free throw.  Before the rally could gain momentum, Shaw shut it down by scoring the next seven points, punctuated by a dunk by John Savoy with 2:34 showing on the clock to give Shaw a 87-52 lead.

Lincoln would then close out the game on a 6-4 run, but it didn't make a dent in the Shaw lead, with the Bears winning 91-58.

Four Bears finished with double digits, led by Hines and Karron Johnson with 19 apiece.  Hunter finished with 17 and Junius Chaney - on the back of two improbable threes - had ten points.  Johnson hauled in 11 rebounds for a double-double while McCoy finished with nine points and eight assists.

Only one Lion managed double digits: Justin Jackson, who finished with ten points.  Sharpe had nine points.  Newsome topped the Lincoln lineup with eight rebounds.

The Bears finish Northern Division play in the CIAA with a perfect 6-0 mark and now prepare to move into Southern Division play Saturday when they host Livingstone.

"We've had a chance to see a couple of things in non-conference play and in Northern Division play and learned what our strengths and weaknesses are," said Hill.  "We just have to work on improving the weaknesses and taking advantage of our strengths."

Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. - following the conclusion of the women's game - at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.