RALEIGH, N.C. -  Andre Paulk celebrated his senior night with 25 points as the Shaw University men's basketball team downed visiting Fayetteville State at C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium Wednesday night. 

With the win, Shaw improves to a 9-16 mark overall, 7-8 in the conference and 3-6 in the CIAA's Southern Division.  Fayetteville State drops to 17-9, 9-6 in the CIAA and 5-4 in the division.

Paulk not only put up 25 points, but also pulled in 11 rebounds to lead the Bears.  He hit six of 12 from the floor, including going two of six from the three-point line.  He hit 11 of 12 free throws he attempted.

Neither team shot well, with Shaw hitting 41.2 percent of their shots while FSU sank 38.2 percent.  Both teams committed 19 turnovers.  Shaw held a 38-34 advantage in rebounds.

Paulk and fellow senior Chaz Thomas opened the scoring with a three and a tip in, respectively, to open the scoring.  FSU cut the lead to one, but Shaw responded with six straight to build a lead they would hold the rest of the half.

The Broncos would cut the Shaw lead to one with 5:02 left, but the Bears responded with four straight points, punctuated by a Joe Reid dunk that brought the crowd to its feet and gave the Bears a 29-24 lead with 3:59 left.  Neither team would score the rest of the half.

After Reid opened the second half with a dunk, the Broncos scored eight straight, including three pointers from Torian Showers and Tyrrel Tate, taking a 32-31 lead. 

Shaw reclaimed the lead briefly, then FSU reeled off six straight to take a 38-35 lead.  The two teams exchanged buckets, then Shaw scored six straight, taking a four-point lead on a pair of Paulk free throws with 10:43 left in the contest. 

The Bears would maintain a lead the rest of the way, although Fayetteville State did cut that lead to one with 5:27 left in the contest.  Paulk stretched the lead back to four with a three.

FSU got it as close as four at 56-52 with 2:51 left, but then began fouling the Bears to stop the clock.  Shaw hit seven of 11 from the charity stripe in the final 2:21, building an 11-point lead on a free throw from Aquil Younger.  FSU scored the final three points of the contest to set the final as a 65-57 Shaw win.

In addition to Paulk's 25, Reid finished with 11 and Jeffery Legree had 10.  Younger led the Bears with four assists.

Showers scored 15 points to lead the Broncos.  Tyrrel Tate had 13 and Joshua Dawson 11.  Dawson and Showers had six rebounds apiece and Dawson had six assists to lead FSU.

Prior to the contest, Shaw honored five seniors:  Paulk, Thomas, Albert Smith, Derrick Hunter and Curtis Hines.

Shaw closes out the regular season on Saturday when they travel to Johnson C. Smith for a 7:30 p.m. tip.