Box Score PEMBROKE, N.C. – Junior Travis Lock scored the game's first touchdown to give the Bears a 6-3 lead, but came up short in the final minutes 16-6 to UNC Pembroke at the Grace P. Johnson Stadium on Saturday night.
The Bears drop to 0-3 on the season, while UNC Pembroke improves to 3-0 on the year.
Lock rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts, while quarterback Quenton Rucker (Atlanta, GA) completed 18-for-35 passes for 273 yards and two interceptions in the setback.
The Bears collected 360 total yards, 273 by the pass and 87 on the ground.
Demontay Rhem ran for 53 yards on 17 attempts, while B.J. Bunn collected 70 yards and one touchdown for the Braves. Patrick O'Brien was 18-for-32 in pass completions for 190 yards and one touchdown at the quarterback spot.
The Braves scored first after Matt Davis kicked a field goal for 23 yards to take the 3-0 lead at the 2:32 mark in the first quarter before Lock responded with a touchdown for the Bears to give Shaw a 6-3 lead with just 11:59 on the clock in the second quarter.
Shaw would attempt to go for a two-point conversion but the attempt wasn't successful as the Bears turned the ball over.
The momentum for the Bears began to shift towards the end of the second quarter when O'Brien threw a 18 yard pass to Bunn for a Braves touchdown to stretch their lead to 10-6 with 43 seconds remaining in the first half.
After intermission, the Bears allowed UNCP to extend their lead to seven (13-6) when Davis kicked another field goal for 22 yards in the third and again in the fourth at the 14:05 mark (16-6).
But just when things began to show in favor for the Braves, DeShawn Harris (Durham, NC) caught an interception at the 1:08 to give the Bears one last shot at keeping the game alive.
Unfortunately, the Bears final possession began at their 20 yard line with the ball in Ruckers hand. He got sacked for a loss of 13 yards to Shaw's seven yard line. The next two possessions were incomplete passes attempted for Atravius James (College Park, GA) and Raymond Green (Durham, NC) which sealed the victory for the Braves.
Defensively, Roland Green (Bluffton, SC) paced the Bears with 13 total tackles, including eight solo and five assisted, while Thomas Street (Compton, CA) collected nine total tackles (four solo and five assisted).
Shaw will look to recover with a road trip to Lincoln, Pa. on September 26th against The Lincoln with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on Shaw football and its 11 varsity sport teams, visit shawbears.com.
