Box Score BOWIE, Md. – The Shaw University men's basketball team used a big second half to hold off Bowie State University, 70-68 for the Bears second consecutive conference victory on Saturday afternoon in A.C. Jordan Arena. Joshua Cassady (Raleigh, NC) led the effort with 14 points and 11 rebounds – his first double-double of the season.
The win boosted Shaw's record to 6-10 overall and 3-1 in the CIAA, while Bowie State drops to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in league action.
Three players joined Cassady in double-digit scoring including, Larry Richardson, II (Garner, NC) with 12 points, followed by John Savoy (Temple Hills, MD) with 11 points, and Jamar Cooper (Petersburg, VA) with 10 points and three assists for Shaw.
BSU opened up the game with two back-to-back 3-pointers from Julian Livingston as the Bulldogs took the early 6-0 lead to go on an 8-2 run at the 18:02 mark.
A 3-pointer by Cooper sparked a 6-2 run for the Bears as they were able to cut the deficit to two points (14-12) with 14:34 left in the half but the Bulldogs would pushed the lead up to their largest lead of the half at 13-points.
As the clock showed 4:29 left in the first half, Shaw used a 9-2 run get within five points (38-33) of BSU but a 3-point play by Michael Briscoe would stretch the Bulldogs lead to eight. However, Cooper nailed another 3-pointer to close the gap 41-36 to give the Bears some momentum heading into the locker room.
In the first half the Bears were able to outscore the Bulldogs 16-12 in the paint and 16-7 in bench scoring but the Bulldogs held a 20-3 advantage in points off of turnovers.
BSU would lead for about seven minutes into the second half until momentum shifted in favor of the Bears after Kristopher Timmons (Durham, NC) drained a 3-pointer to give the Bears their first lead of the game at the 12:50 mark.
Both teams battled as the game had three lead changes and three tied scores with the last score tied at 66-66 and 4:52 left in regulation. Two free-throws by Akeem Echols (Baltimore, MD) gave the Bears a 68-66 advantage, which would embarked on a 6-0 run for Shaw. BSU had opportunities to either tie the game or win it all but their attempts were not successful as Shaw was able to hold off the Bulldogs for the win.
Livingston and Briscoe led Bowie State with 13 points each, while Miles Jackson added 12 points and seven rebounds and Ahmaad Wilson aided 11 points in the effort.
Shaw will return to CIAA action on Monday, Jan. 11th when they travel to Lincoln University. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Rivero Hall.
For the most up-to-date information on Shaw men's basketball and its 11 varsity sport teams, visit shawbears.com.
