By David Shaw

sports@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — It’s never about the start — always about the finish — in this year’s rugged CIAA.

So while Livingstone men’s coach James Stinson was pleased his team exploded out of the gate in Saturday’s Southern Division showdown with visiting Shaw, he was clearly dejected after the Blue Bears were dealt a 69-64 overtime loss.

“We can preach and punish them all year long for not doing what we ask,” Stinson said after LC (8-13, 5-7) lost a close game to Shaw for the second time in 12 days. “Ultimately, they’re the ones who have execute and feel comfortable with it on the court.”

Livingstone fell to 4-2 against Southern Division foes — and did it dramatically. It converted half of its first 18 field goal attempts, scored the game’s first 10 points and led by as much as 23-9 just nine minutes into the match.

“Yeah, but it’s how you finish,” junior Ramel Belfield said. “We had an opportunity to snatch an important win here, but we didn’t snatch it. I’m at a loss for words.”

Instead, Livingstone made only two baskets in the last 12-plus minutes and shot 1-for-7 from the field in overtime. Shaw (11-11, 7-5 CIAA, 5-1 Southern Division) never led until DeAngelo Stephens-Bell scored on a fastbreak layup a minute into OT — but tied the score on four separate occasions in the second half.

“When you play Livingstone at home, you have to be ready to fight,” said Shaw coach Joel Hopkins. “We’ve lost our share of games at the buzzer, but in this one the ball bounced our way. It happened to be our night.”

It wasn’t for most of the game. Despite its clumsy, square-wheeled performance, Livingstone seemed to be in control after Belfield took a long bounce pass from teammate Roger Ray and scored on a jailbreak layup, providing a 57-50 lead with 7:29 remaining.

“We had it, but we let it slip through our hands,” sophomore David Duncan said after posting his sixth double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) of the season. “Our energy after halftime, and in the last five minutes, wasn’t the same. We didn’t execute.”

It was still 60-55, Livingstone, after senior Emarri Bailey alertly switched hands under the basket and hit a left-handed layup with 2:15 to play. But Shaw used LC turnovers on three straight possessions to hang around and tied the score at 60 when Stephens-Bell drove for a basket with just 13.4 seconds on the clock. Livingstone squandered a chance to win in regulation when Ray back-rimmed a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer.

In the extra session, the Blue Bears couldn’t find any rhythm from the field or free throw line. They were 2-for-6 from the line and their only bucket followed Samuel McClendon’s too-late-to-matter full-court drive with 15 seconds left.

“We’ve got the kind of team that when we come to play, it’s very hard to beat us,” Belfield said after shooting 5-for-9 from the floor and netting 12 points. “Unfortunately, we didn’t convert on stops we had. This was our fault. We let them back into the game.”

With four league games remaining before the conference tournament, Livingstone — a CIAA finalist the past three winters — won’t likely be the top seed out of the Southern Division.

“The thing that’s got to change is we’ve got to grow up in a hurry,” Stinson said. “We’ve got to make a commitment toward executing the game-plan our coaches put in place. If not, we’ll be packing up some uniforms awfully early for a change.”

NOTES: Livingstone has lost two straight. It visits Fayetteville State on Wednesday. Shaw has gone 5-2 against CIAA teams since Jan. 18. … LC shot 37.7 percent from the field (26-for-69). Cameron Burhannon (12 points) gave the Blue Bears three scorers in double figures. Shaw had five.

SHAW (69) — Kelsie 12, Ward 11, Richardson 11, Cassady 11, Bell 10, Stephens-Bell 6, Madol 6, Williams 2, Robinson, Goosby.

LIVINGSTONE (64) — Burhannon 12, Belfield 12, Duncan 10, Jones 8, Dortch-Jones 8, Bond 4, Wilson 3, Ray 3, McClendon 2, Bailey 2, Lowe.

Shaw                         25    35    9 — 69

Livingstone             33     27    4 — 64