Box Score CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Junior David Madol (Manchester, NH) poured a team-best 27 points for Shaw and senior Jamar Cooper (Petersburg, VA) added 18, but Johnson C. Smith University pulled away from the Bears in the second half on the way to a 102-92 victory at BrayBoy Gymnasium to conclude the regular season.
Despite the loss, Shaw (12-16, 9-7 CIAA) finished third in the Southern Division with a 5-5 record after being predicted to finish last in the preseason polls, while JCSU (14-11, 9-7 CIAA) posts a 7-3 record to take the Southern Division title.
Seniors John Savoy (Temple Hills, MD), Joell Hopkins, Jr. (Raleigh, NC), and Akeem Echols (Baltimore, MD) all contributed 10 points each in the loss. Defensively, Madol and Echols both grabbed eight rebounds apiece.
Stedmon Lemon led all players in the contest with 31 points, while collecting 11 rebounds and five assists. Diondre Pratt added 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Robert Davis and Alandre Davis finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Both teams shot at least 30-percent from the field in the first half, but JCSU knocked down 58-percent (21-of-36) of its attempts from the floor in the second. The Golden Bulls were also 19-of-28 at the line for the contest.
Meanwhile, Shaw, shot 41-percent (30-of-72) from the field on the night and was able to outshoot the Golden Bulls from the 3-point line at just 32-percent (9-of-28).
The Bears trailed for most of the first half before a 3-pointer by Madol gave Shaw a lead at the 8:47 mark. Shaw held onto the lead for over six minutes until the Golden Bulls cut the deficit and secured the lead back on a dunk from Malik Ford.
The Golden Bulls pushed an 11-2 run to go into the locker room with a 48-41 cushion at the break.
The game featured six ties and nine lead changes but JCSU used a 24-18 burst midway through the second half that included eight points from Pratt to assume control at 72-60 with 13:08 left.
Shaw was never able to recover from the deficit after only getting within seven points the rest of the way as JCSU's Lemon scored six points over the course of 3:51 to secure the win.
The Bears will stay in Charlotte, NC to compete in the 2016 CIAA Tournament, beginning on Feb. 22nd.
For the most up-to-date information on Shaw basketball and its 11 varsity sport teams, visit shawbears.com.
