RALEIGH, N.C. - The Shaw University offense could manage only 226 yards - including only 96 through the air - as the Bears fell to Virginia State 14-10 Saturday afternoon at Durham County Memorial Stadium.

The Bears drop their third straight game, falling to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 in the CIAA.  Virginia State improves to 4-1 on the year and remains atop the conference's Northern Division with a 2-0 CIAA mark.

Shaw managed only three points on offense; the lone touchdown came on a fumble return for a touchdown by cornerback Darnell Evans.

The Bears averaged 4.6 yards per carry on the ground, amassing 130 yards on 28 attempts, but could not maintain long drives.  Shaw's longest drive was 11 plays - a drive that ended in the lone offensive tally.  Other than that, no drive went more than eight plays or more than 45 yards.

After allowing two touchdowns on the first three VSU drives, the Bear defense shut down the Trojans until the last drive of the game, which stalled on the Shaw one-yard line when time ran out.

On their two scoring drives, the Trojans amassed 166 yards of offense.  They managed only 197 the rest of the game. 

The Trojan offense geared up on their second drive of the game, with Justin Thorpe hitting four passes for a total of 66 yards, including a 32-yard strike to Jaivon Smallwood that put VSU in the end zone and gave them a 7-0 lead.

The Shaw offense - mainly the legs of Marquise Grizzle - managed only 31 yards on their next drive, with George Mulumba punting to the Virginia State nine-yard line and pinning VSU deep.

The lack of field position did not seem to bother the Trojans.  With only one play - a 14-yard pass from Thorpe to Smallwood - going more than ten yards, VSU mounted a 12-play, 91-yard drive that put them in the Shaw end zone on a Thorpe rush and give them the 14-0 lead with 13:45 left in the second quarter.

Both defenses controlled the field for the rest of the half, with neither team able to mount a scoring drive.  At the half, the score remained 14-0.

On their second drive of the second half, Shaw got some help from Virginia State in the form of a roughing the passer penalty that moved the Bears from the shadow of their own goal posts to their 24-yard line.

Quinshon Odom hit Andre Polite for 21 yards to extend the drive further, then he and Grizzle combined to move the Bears to the VSU 11, where the drive stalled.  Mulumba hit a 28 yard field goal to finally put Shaw on the scoreboard and make the score 14-3.

Both defenses moved to the forefront on the next drives.  Shaw drove VSU backwards eight yards on their next drive, and then the Trojans held Shaw to only five yards on their ensuing possession. 

Virginia State then got the ball on their own 20 and on the first play of the drive, Thorpe hit Gene Holloman, but the receiver dropped the ball.  Evans recovered the fumble and ran the ball over the goal line to cut the Virginia State lead to 14-10.

In the fourth quarter, neither team managed to maintain a drive of more than 17 yards until the final seven minutes of the game when Virginia State got the ball on their 27 and drove all the way to the Shaw one-yard line, but allowed the clock to run out without crossing the goal line.

Odom finished the game 12 of 23 for 96 yards.  Grizzle had 19 carries for 94 yards.  No Shaw receiver had more than two receptions.

Defensively for the Bears, N'Gal Tillman was the standout with 14 solo tackles, including one tackle for a loss.  He also hauled in an interception.  Three Bears had seven tackles apiece.

Thorpe was 27 for 34 with one interception for 211 yards and the one touchdown.  He also was the team's leading rusher going for 65 yards and another touchdown.  Smallwood had four catches for 69 yards to lead VSU.  Gene Holloman had ten catches for 36 yards.

Ka'Von Bellamy and Brandon Robinson had five solo tackles apiece for the Trojans and each also had a tackle for a loss.

The Bears return to action Saturday when they travel to Fayetteville State for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff.