James Dillard helped the Golden Bulls seal a 68-67 win over Shaw with a block in the closing seconds
Box Score
Charlotte, NC – The Johnson C. Smith University men's basketball team picked up their second consecutive CIAA Western Division victory with a 68-67 win over Shaw University Thursday evening inside Brayboy Gymnasium. The Golden Bull improve to 14-6 overall, 8-5 in the CIAA, and 2-1 in the division; while the Bears fall to 10-10 overall, 7-6 in the conference, and remain winless in the division at 0-3.
JCSU looked like the superior squad early in the first half. Six minutes into the contest Shaw faced a 12-2 deficit. Before the game was chalked up as another win for J.C. Smith, the Bears responded with a 14-3 scoring run to snatch the lead. Both teams tussled for the advantage, but Shaw led at the break 27-23.
Senior forward Dante' Drummer (Norfolk, VA) had most of the offensive production in the half with six points and four rebounds. Despite leading the conference in both categories, the Golden Bulls only shot 33% from the field (7-21) and the three-point line (2-6).
Shaw had the lead throughout the second half until the final minute. A score inside by senior forward
James Dillard (Apex, NC) tied the game at 67 with 42 seconds on the clock. The Bears missed a lay-up on their next possession then committed a foul on senior forward
Jerry Hollis (Charlotte, NC) in the act of shooting. Hollis missed the first, but drilled the second to put JCSU up 68-67.
Coming out of a timeout Michael Smith drove inside only to get rejected by Dillard. Eric Pitts grabbed Shaw's 21st offensive rebound and went back up. Hollis sealed the game with his sixth block of the contest and time expired.
Johnson C. Smith had a 54% shooting performance in the second half (13-24) for a 44% (20-45) night. Five Golden Bulls scored double digits led by Hollis with 14 points, seven rebounds, six blocks and four assists. Senior forward
Brian Mobley (Charlotte, NC) produced 13 points, including shooting 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Junior guard
Ronald Thornhill (Alberta, VA) and Dillard each had 11 points, followed by Drummer with 10.
Rodney Callwood had a game-high 16 points and nine rebounds for Shaw. Raheem Smith nearly closed in on a double-double with 13 points and eight boards.
“We got off to a good start offensively in the first half, then Shaw took advantage of some miscues,” said JCSU head coach
Stephen Joyner, Sr. “Ultimately, we stayed poised and put forth a tremendous defensive effort to stay in the game and win. I'm real proud of the play of two seniors,
Jerry Hollis and
James Dillard, both really stepped it up and helped us get this ball game.”
The Golden Bulls will travel up I-85 to face divisional rivalry Livingstone College on Saturday, February 6th. Game time is slated for 7:30 pm inside Trent Gymnasium in Salisbury, NC.
