Box Score RALEIGH, N.C. – Joell Hopkins, Jr. (Raleigh, NC) scored a season-high 25 points, while grabbing eight rebounds to help the Shaw University men's basketball team take down Johnson C. Smith University in a CIAA Southern Division contest on Saturday afternoon in Spaulding Gymnasium.
The Bears outscored JCSU 46-39 in the first half, while scoring a season-high 62 points to the Golden Bulls' 54 points in the second half.
With the win, the Bears improve to 9-12 overall and 6-2 in CIAA action, while JCSU falls to 10-10 overall and 5-6 in the league.
Larry Richardson, II (Garner, NC) charted 18 points and two assists, while Joshua Cassady (Raleigh, NC) netted a career-high 16 points and seven rebounds. David Madol (Manchester, NH) tallied 13 points and three rebounds, followed by Jamar Cooper (Petersburg, VA) with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The first half featured six ties and two lead changes between the Bears and Golden Bulls but Shaw took the lead at the 7:34 mark after producing an 11-6 run.
The Bears would post a 46-39 lead at halftime after outscoring JCSU 28-20 in the paint, 17-12 from the bench, 11-2 in second chances, while holding a slight advantage in points off of turnovers 7-6.
Richardson, II led Shaw in scoring with 11 points, followed by Hopkins, Jr. with 10 points. Stedmon Lemon led all scorers at the break with 13 points for JCSU.
Two free-throws from Alandre Davis cut the Bears lead to five-points to start the second half but Shaw orchestrated a 9-4 run to lead 55-46 over the Golden Bulls with 16:12 left in the game.
JCSU would build a 10-2 run to carve the Bears lead to six-points (63-57) but Shaw used a 14-4 spurt to whittle away from the Golden Bulls and lead 78-62 as the Bears went on to the 108-93 victory.
Joshua Linson led the Golden Bulls with 23 points, while Lemon added 22 points and 10 rebounds. Both Davis and Christian Kirckman finished with 12 points apiece in the loss.
Shaw returns to action on Monday, Feb. 1st, as they travel to cross-town rival Saint Augustine's University for a tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m. in Emery Gymnasium.
For the most up-to-date information on Shaw men's basketball and its 11 varsity sport teams, visit shawbears.com.
