Shaw cruises past WSSU in home finale

Ninth-ranked Shaw continued its impressive run through the CIAA.

The Bears rolled to an 80-59 victory over defenseless Winston-Salem State on Monday night at Spaulding Gym.

Showing balance that has brought them a 23-2 record and a 19-game win streak, the Bears sent their seniors out on a good note in their final home game.

"They are a talented team," said coach Bobby Collins of the Rams. "One through five, any of them can go off and get points. I know what they were all capable of, and I thought if we could get back and set our defense we would have a chance, but we couldn't do that."

The Rams (18-7, 4-5 Southern Division) had a six-point lead early but it didn't last long. The Bears went on a 22-0 run over six minutes, and the Rams failed to score on their next 12 possessions.

It didn't get much better the rest of the way, thanks to a steady diet of guards Malik Alvin (20 points) and Tony Smith (14 points, seven rebounds and four assists). Every time the Rams tried to make a run, it was Smith or Alvin who made the big shots to preserve the Bears' lead.

"We just couldn't get into a rhythm against them," said Justin Glover of the Rams, who scored 15 points and had six assists. "We had a pretty good start, but we couldn't sustain it and that hurt us."

When Smith or Alvin weren't hurting the Rams on the outside, it was post player Junius Chaney (13 points, 17 rebounds) and wing Derrick Hunter (12 points, six rebounds) who rolled through the Rams.

"We wanted to go out on a good note," said Alvin, a senior who was 6 of 10 from the floor and is the second-leading scorer in the CIAA. "For us seniors there was a lot of hype and we wanted to deliver a victory."

"We kind of got out of character how we wanted to play," Collins said. "We took some quick shots, and once they started running with it, we couldn't slow them down."

The Bears didn't have as much success in the halfcourt on offense, but made up for it with solid rebounding to the tune of a 51-30 advantage.

"We got the ball inside early but got away from it later," Collins said. "We just didn't do a good job of containing their fast break, especially when we took those quick shots."

In the second half, the Rams managed to cut their deficit to 16 with 11:18 to go when Wakefield Ellison drilled a 3-pointer. But that was as close as they would come.

Coach Cleo Hill Jr. of Shaw said that it's never easy to play that final game at home.

"I knew the energy would be high with it being Senior Night," Hill said. "With that in mind, I thought we were a little too jacked up. We started out in the man-to-man, and they got what they wanted early in the first three minutes."

Except for the early part of the game, Hill stuck with the 2-3 zone, and the Rams struggled to get anything inside. Freshman WyKevin Bazemore had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Joe Thompson had eight points and six rebounds, but Collins said he needed more production from the post.

"I need more out of Stephon (Platt) and Nequan (Melvin), and we just didn't get that," Collins said.

The Rams shot 33 percent, but were 7 of 19 on 3-pointers.

Glover said: "We've got to get back to the drawing board and get things right before Saturday."

WSSU: Wells 2-9 0-0 6; Glover 5-12 4-7 15; Bazemore 3-8 6-6 12; Hunt 2-4 0-0 6; Thompson 3-7 2-4 8; Peay 1-2 0-1 2; Witherspoon 1-3 0-0 3; Desmore 1-3 0-0 2; Walcott 1-1 0-0 2; Platt 0-1 0-0 0; Melvin 0-5 0-0 0; Ellison 1-5 0-1 3. Totals: 20-60 12-19 59.

SHAW: McLendon 2-5 4-4 10; Alvin 6-10 4-6 20; Johnson 2-8 0-3 4; Smith 5-12 3-4 14; Chaney 4-10 5-5 13; McCoy 1-2 0-0 2; Hunter 3-5 2-4 12; McNeal 0-4 0-0 0; Fisher 0-1 0-0 0; Abdur-Rahim 1-1 0-0 2; Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0; Hines 1-1 0-0 3; Pitter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 18-26 80.

Halftime: Shaw 43-19. 3-Point Goals: WSSU 7-19 (Wells 2-4, Glover 1-6, Hunt 2-3, Witherspoon 1-2, Desmore 0-1, Ellison 1-3), Shaw 8-22 (McLendon 2-5, Alvin 4-6, Smith 1-4, Chaney 0-2, McNeal 0-3, Mitchell 0-1, Hines 1-1). Rebounds: WSSU 30 (Bazemore 9), Shaw 51 (Chaney 14). Assists: WSSU 10 (Witherspoon, Bazemore 3), Shaw 16. (Alvin 4). Total fouls: WSSU 24, Shaw 16. Technicals: None. Attendance: 654.