Shaw knocks off Lincoln (PA) to advance to CIAA Quarterfinals

Shaw knocks off Lincoln (PA) to advance to CIAA Quarterfinals

March 2, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A perfect day from Raheem Smith led Shaw to a 67-43 victory over Lincoln (Pa.) Wednesday in a CIAA men's basketball first-round game at Time Warner Cable Arena.

With the victory, the Bears, the No. 2 Southern Division seed, heads to the quarterfinal round to square off against the Saint Augustine's College-Elizabeth City State winner Thursday at 1 p.m. Lincoln (Pa.), the No. 7 Northern Division seed, ended its season at 4-23 with its second-lowest scoring output this season.

Smith, a 6-2 senior All-CIAA guard from Greenville, N.C., connected on 9-for-9 shots from the floor including 4-for4 from the three-point line. He also was 3-for-3 from the free-throw line and added nine rebounds for the Bears, who upped their record to 19-8 overall.

“I hope I can shoot 100 percent the rest of the tournament,” Smith said

Smith scored 12 points in the first half on 5-for-5 shooting including 2-for-2 behind the three point arc. His points sparked a 22-10 run which turned an 8-8 tie into a 30-18 halftime lead for the Bears.

Smith continued his hot hand in the second half. He scored nine points during a 23-0 Bears' run to put the game out of reach at 57-25 with 7:32 left. The Bears finished the contest shooting 50 percent from the floor including 52 percent in the decisive second half.

Tony Smith added 10 points and Jaylon Battle had 9 points and 9 rebounds for the Bears, who defeated the Lions 74-46 on Jan. 20 in their only other meeting during the season. The Bears dominated most of the statistical categories in Wednesday's game including points in the paint (28-12), points off turnovers (23-13), second-chance points (16-6), fast break points (8-0) and bench points (17-3). The Bears also canned 14 of 21 free throw attempts compared to 3 of 6 free throw attempts for the Lions.

“I'm attributing the win to senior leadership,” said Shaw Head Coach Cleo Hill, Jr., who has 14 upperclassmen on his roster including five seniors. “My concern was that my guys would be a little overconfident.”

Terron Jones of Lincoln (Pa.) scored 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting including 4-for-6 from the three-point arc. All-CIAA player Denzel Mooney, the league's second-leading scorer at 22.1 points a clip, had an off shooting day, going 4-for-17 including 1-for-8 from the three-point line for 11 points. Overall, the Lions shot 33 percent from the floor.

The Bears led the entire game after jumping out to an 8-0 lead. The Lions came back to tie the score before Smith put them away with his dead-eye shooting.