BOWIE, Md. -  The Shaw University men's basketball team could not find their shooting touch in the second half and fell to Bowie State on a last second free throw 60-59 at the A.C. Jordan Arena on the BSU campus Saturday afternoon.

The loss is the first for the Bears in five conference games.  They fall to 6-9 on the season and are 4-1 in CIAA play.  The win is Bowie's first in five conference games, and they stand at 7-9 overall. 

Shaw's shooting was the highlight of the first half, as they hit 54.5 percent of their shots, but then committed eight turnovers.  In comparison, Bowie State hit only 36.7 percent of their shots, but committed only three miscues.

In the second, though, Shaw's shooting touch abandoned them as they hit only 32 percent, compared to 42.9 percent for Bowie State. 

Free throws determined the game at the end, and while both teams shot in the same range (71.4 percent for Shaw, 75 percent for BSU), it was the Bulldogs that hit free throws late, when the game was on the line.

The game started evenly with both teams holding their own.  With 14:55 left in the first, Larry Richardson -- who had scored 29 in Thursday night's game -- hit a three and then a free throw to give the Bears an 11-5 lead.

Bowie State then employed a full-court press that created difficulties for Shaw inbounding the ball.  Despite that, Shaw still held a 16-10 lead with 12:03 left after Derrick Hunter sank two of three free throws.

The Bulldogs used the press and strong rebounding to their advantage, scoring four straight and cutting the Shaw lead to two before Hunter got a rebound and layup to extend the lead back to four with 10:33 left in the half.

Shaw continued to nurse a small lead for five minutes.  With 5:02 left in the half, DaAaron Ward sank a long two to give Shaw a 28-23 lead.

BSU quickly cut the lead to three, but Shaw responded with a dunk from Koron Reed to keep the lead at five.

With 2:07 left in the first, Trawn Rogers hit a three for Bowie State that cut the Shaw lead to only one at 32-31, but Hunter responded with a three on the left wing to extend the lead back to four, 35-31.

The teams would exchange buckets to give Shaw a 37-33 lead at the half.

The early minutes of the second half presaged what was to come -- with each team scoring only a bucket apiece in the opening three and a half minutes of the second half. 

After a relative outburst of scoring over the next minute, Shaw held a 44-40 lead with 15:11 left. 

With 13:52 left, DaAaron Ward tipped in a missed shot to give Shaw a 46-42 lead.  The Bears would not score again for four minutes, when Richardson hit a jumper to knot the score at 48.

The bucket was the start of what would become a nine-point run, ending with a three from Hunter that Gave Shaw a 55-48 lead.

With 4:16 left, and Shaw holding a 57-50 lead, BSU began a seven-point run that tied the score at 57 with 1:57 remaining. 

Koron Reed responded by tipping in a missed shot and giving Shaw back the lead with just over a minute left in the game.

With 18.5 seconds left in the game, Andre Paulk was called for a foul.  Julian Williams hit one of two to cut the Shaw lead to 59-58. 

With 16.8 left, Paulk was fouled and missed the front end of the one-and-one.  BSU brought the ball down court, then called a timeout with five seconds left.  With 1.7 seconds left, Ray Gatling drove the line and drew the foul.  He made the first free throw to tie the game, then Shaw called a timeout in an effort to ice the shooter, but he hit the second, giving the Bulldogs a 60-59 lead and the eventual win.

Hunter was the only Bear in double figures with 17 points.  He also  led the team in rebounds with nine.  Younger had two assists to top Shaw.

Gatling finished with 18 points for the Bulldogs, while Carlos Smith had 15 and David Golladay had 11.  Brian Freeman had eight rebounds and Zafir Williams six assists to lead Bowie State.

The Bears continue their four-game road trip Monday when they travel to Lincoln (PA) for a 7:30 p.m. tip.  Shaw returns home Wednesday, January 22 to host division rival Winston-Salem State at 8:00 p.m. at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the Shaw campus.