Raleigh, NC – The Shaw bench outscored Paine 30-13 providing a much-needed spark late as the Bears defeated the visiting Lions 71-67 Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup inside C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.

Shaw (4-2) finished the night shooting 45% from the floor but struggled from the free-throw line connecting on just 11 of 22 shots from the charity stripe. The Bears held a slight 44-42 edge in rebounding while Shaw shot a season-low 11% from beyond the arc.

The Bears jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first 40 seconds of the contest. Paine (3-5) quickly responded with a 7-0 run to go ahead 7-4 with 17:00 remaining in the first half. The Lions pushed ahead 10-4 before a 6-0 Shaw run knotted the game at 10 just before the first media timeout. Paine benefited from a few Shaw turnovers to build an 18-13 lead before pulling ahead 21-15 at the 9:57 media timeout.

The Shaw deficit grew to 28-17 with 7:47 left in the half forcing a timeout from the Bears bench. The Bears put together a string of stops and baskets to trim the Lions lead to 28-23 before keeping their deficit at five with 4:50 on the clock in the first half. Back-to-back three-point baskets from Justus Baldwin cut the Paine lead to 33-31 with 3:30 remaining before halftime. Shaw regained the lead with a basket from Jason Robinson with the assist from Brandon Faison. A late Lions basket made the score 35-34 at the break.

Both teams traded baskets to open the half with Shaw still trailing by one point 41-40 with 17 minutes remaining. A three-point play from Caleb Simmons tied the game at 43-43 at the 16-minute mark of the second half. Paine responded to go ahead 51-47 with 11:30 left in the game. Izeah Parker collected an offensive rebound and finished inside to tie the game at 53-53 forcing a Lions timeout with 9:02 left.

The Lions responded with yet another run to retake the lead making the score 59-55 at the under 10 media timeout. Nakwan Kitchens tied the game at 59-59 with a poster dunk. Baskets from both teams put the Bears ahead 63-62 with 2:49 remaining in regulation. Simmons finished inside the post converting a three-point play with 2:13 left with the score being 66-62 in favor of Shaw. Missed free throws from the Bears left the contest open with under a minute left and Shaw ahead 67-64. Rayshawn Neal split a pair making the score 68-65 before a Lions turnover with 20 seconds left. Kitchens scored making the score 70-65 before a Lions steal after a miss led to a layup and timeout with 7.2 seconds remaining and the scoreboard reading 70-67. Baldwin later split a pair icing the game while sealing the 71-67 win.

Simmons finished with 14 points and six rebounds followed by Kitchens with 13 points. Baldwin and Tyler Williams chipped in 11 and 10 points each.

The Bears will take a break for final exams returning to action on December 9 as Shaw opens CIAA action as they host Claflin. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.