December 13, 2007

Boxscore

LAURINBURG, N.C.—Shaw University made 63.2-percent (24-for-38) of its shots to narrowly beat host St. Andrews Presbyterian College 68-65 in a NCAA Division II men’s basketball non-conference game on Thursday night in Harris Court.

Guard Will Graham (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half included Shaw’s final seven points to give the Bears (3-5) the narrow victory. The Knights (0-8) shot well at 45.5-percent but could not ice down Shaw on offense.

Freshman Brandon Greene (Slidell, La.) hit the opening three-pointer for Shaw but St. Andrews would score the next 11 points to take the lead for the rest of the first half. The Bears pulled to within one late in the opening period but the Knights were able to maintain a slim 33-30 advantage at halftime.

Knights junior Joseph Gripper (Charlotte, N.C.) led all players with 15 points into the intermission while teammate sophomore Colby Poe (Bennettsville, S.C.) scored nine of his 11 first half points on a trio of three-pointers. John Douros (Raleigh, N.C.) kept Shaw in the game with 11 points in the first 20 minutes.

The Bears shot 62.5-percent in the first half compared to 41.9% by the Knights but 18 St. Andrews points off 16 Shaw turnovers helped the hosts to the three-point lead after the opening stanza.

SAPC maintained a narrow lead for the first five minutes out of the locker room but the visitors finally took their second lead of the contest at 38-37. The two teams would continue to fight back and forth with 10 more lead changes in the next 10 minutes. Trailing by three, 61-58, with just over four minutes left, Gripper drilled a three-pointer to tie everything. Junior Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) then put the Knights on top, 63-61, with a floater in the lane as the shot clock expired but Graham responded with a bucket. Phillips again put St. Andrews ahead by two with a tough 15-footer but Graham once again answered with his own make.

Still tied at 65-65 heading into the final minute, Gripper took a three-point attempt in the corner to give the Knights the lead but the shot came up just short and after a battle for the loose-ball rebound, Shaw was awarded possession when the ball went out of bounds. The Bears killed some of the clock before Graham drove the lane and scored his third straight shot to give the visitors a two-point lead, 67-65, with 8.7 seconds. Shaw then used a midcourt trap to steal the ball. St. Andrews was forced to foul and Graham made 1-of-2 free throws with 1.8 seconds left to extend final margin of victory to three. Graham’s miss on the second attempt from the charity stripe only left SAPC with a full court heave as time expired.

The Bears were even more impressive shooting in the second half converting on 14-of-22 (63.6%) while the Knights held their own making 12-of-24 (50%). However, SAPC only made 50% of its free throws while Shaw made 70%.

Gripper scored seven more points in the second half to finish with a game-high 22 points. Gripper also had a team-high four steals. Poe hit his fourth shot from behind the arc in the final period to total 17 points. Phillips finished with seven points and a team-high four assists while senior Marcus Hoke (Charlotte, N.C.) and freshman Josh Lanham (Greensboro, N.C.) chipped in with six points apiece.

Graham made 8-of-9 shots for his 19 points while three other Bears scored in double digits. John Kornegay (Detroit, Mich.) and Damola Obadina (Minneapolis, Minn.) each had 12 points while Douros was held scoreless in the second half to finish with 11.

Shaw held a 29-22 edge on the boards with Cori Gaither (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Robert Espinosa (Plainfield, N.J.) tying for the game-high honors with seven rebounds each. Lanham pulled down a team-high five for the Knights.

After returning from the holiday break, St. Andrews will host non-conference local rival UNC Pembroke on Thursday, January 3 at 8:00 p.m.