ATLANTA, Ga. (February 10, 2018) – Bowie State junior quarterback
Amir Hall has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Black College
Football Player of the Year Award. He was presented with the Deacon
Jones Trophy, named in honor of the football legend
and inaugural Black College Football Hall of Fame inductee. Black College Football Hall of Fame Trustees Mel Blount, James "Shack"
Harris, Art Shell and Doug Williams made the announcement during the
2018 Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Atlanta on Saturday
night. The Award recognizes the most
outstanding football player from a Historically Black College &
University (HBCU) that embodies the rich tradition of athletic
excellence and integrity associated with HBCUs.
Hall led the Bulldogs to a 9-2 regular season record and a berth in the
NCAA Division II playoffs. He threw for 3,519 yards and 41 touchdowns in
11 games. He completed 65 percent of his passes while throwing just
four interceptions in 381 attempts, leading
the nation’s top Division II offense. Hall threw for at least 300 yards
in a game seven times and surpassed 400 yards twice. Perhaps most
impressively, he accounted for 294 points between passing and rushing
touchdowns. In just two years as the Bulldogs starting quarterback, Hall is already
the all-time school leader in passing yards, touchdowns and passing
efficiency. Additionally, he was the 2017 SBN Doug Williams Offensive
Player of the Year, which was also awarded Saturday
night. “This was an outstanding group of Finalists this year,” said Harris.
“Amir had one of the most prolific seasons for a quarterback in CIAA
history, and we congratulate him on winning this prestigious award.”
The Player of the Year was voted on by a five-member Selection
Committee, which is composed of Black College Football Hall of Fame
Co-Founders James “Shack” Harris and Doug Williams, Sheridan Broadcast
Network’s Director of Sports Ty Miller, former USA Today
sports writer Roscoe Nance and ESPN College Football Analyst Jay
Walker. Hall is just the second recipient of the Deacon Jones Trophy. The
inaugural winner, Tarik Cohen (North Carolina A&T State University),
was selected in the 3rd Round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Chicago
Bears, where he recently completed a standout rookie campaign. Other Black College Football Player of the Year Award Finalists included
RB Trenton Cannon (Virginia State University), QB DeVante Kincade
(Grambling State University) and QB Lamar Raynard (North Carolina
A&T State University).
BOWIE, Md. – Bowie State University went flat after halftime and lost a key CIAA Northern Division game to Virginia Union University by a final score of 74-52, The loss snapped a Bulldogs four-game winning streak, but leaves Bowie State in second place in the division with a record of 5-2.
Freshman Jacob Long (Washington, D.C.) came off the Bulldogs bench to pace the team with 12 points while senior Omar George (Baltimore, Md.) contributed 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Virginia Union’s Panthers hit 50 percent of their shots in the first half (13-of-26) compared to 36 percent (9-of-25) for Bowie State’s Bulldogs. First half 3-pointers (4-of-10) and free throws (6-of-13) are what kept the Bulldogs close over the first 20 minutes of action.
With the Bulldogs trailing the Panthers 29-28 at halftime, Bowie State went ice cold in the second half as Virginia Union used a 18-7 run to break the game open. With the scored tied 32-all at the 15:32 mark, VUU used a 15-3 burst to give the Panthers a comfortable 48-35 lead before a layup by BSU’s Cameron Hayes (Upper Marlboro, Md.) stopped the run.
Virginia Union (12-13, 7-6 CIAA, 3-4 North) had no trouble keeping their double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, outscoring Bowie State 45-24 in the final half of play.
The Panthers maintained their 50 percent field goal shooting in the second half, making 14-of-28 from the floor. However, the Bulldogs shot a frigid 18.2 percent from the field (4-of-22) over the final 20 minutes. In fact, Bowie State’s field goal in the second half didn’t occur until the 11:52 mark via a long layup.
Virginia Union University's Kory Cooley (Washington, D.C.) led the Panthers with 19 points and William Jenkins (Baltimore, Md.) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. VUU's Todd Hughes (Smyra, Del.) had 13 points while James Paige (Herndon, Va.) added 11 points. Hughes and Paige were also responsible for seven rebounds each.
The Panthers held advantages in points in the paint (38-14), points off turnovers (23-13), bench points (32-28) and rebounds 39-36.
Bowie State men’s basketball (12-12, 7-6 CIAA) make their final regular season road trip on Saturday (February 17th) traveling to Chowan University for 4 p.m. tipoff against the Hawks in the Helms Center.
BOWIE, Md. – Nationally ranked Virginia Union University took control of the game early, defeating Bowie State University women’s basketball 67-52 on Saturday afternoon in the A.C. Jordan Arena.
Leading Bowie State (14-8, 7-6 CIAA, 2-5 North) was senior Kyah Proctor (Capital Heights, Md.) with a team-high 20 points and sophomore Kyaja Williams (Baltimore, Md.) with 10 points off the Bulldogs bench to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.
Seniors Kiara Colston (Burtonsville, Md.) and Ty-Nita Baker (Houston, Miss.) tallied eight and six points respectively. Senior Lisa Jing (Laurel, Md.), redshirt junior Pere Alexander (Baltimore, Md.) and graduate student Sade Chatman (Minneapolis, Minn.) rounded out Bowie State’s scorers with four points, three points and one point respectively.
The Virginia Union Lady Panthers shot a chilly 28.1 percent from the field in the first half (9-of-32) but knocked down 10-of-12 free throws (83.3 percent) in the first 20 minutes and strolled into halftime with a 30-19 cushion.
The Bulldogs were just as cold from the field in the first half, making just 6-of-23 (26.1 percent), which included 4-of-11 behind the 3-point line.
Bowie State chipped away at the Virginia Union lead, closing the gap to four at 34-30 at the 7:41 mark of the third quarter after a Proctor 3-pointer. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Lady Panthers showed their might and pushed the Virginia Union lead to 49-36 by the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Panthers extended its lead to a game-high 21 points early in the fourth quarter (57-36) and were never threatened beyond the 9:06 mark.
As a team, the Bulldogs finished the game with a field goal shooting percentage of 30.8 percent (16-of-52), 36.8 percent beyond the arc (7-of-19) and 13-of-20 (65 percent) at the charity stripe.
The VUU Lady Panthers outrebounded the Bulldogs 43-34, converted 17 Bowie State turnovers into 22 points and held advantages in second chance points (20-8) and bench points (31-19).
Virginia Union (22-2, 12-1 CIAA, 6-1 North) was led by Alexis Johnson (Hamilton, N.J.) with 24 points to go along with eight rebounds. VUU's Rachael Pecota (San Francisco, Calif.) and Kishona Sutton (Norfolk, Va.) led the Lady Panthers on the boards with nine rebounds apiece.
Pecota and Sutton also contributed 18 and 10 points respectively in the win.
Bowie State women’s basketball make their final regular season road trip on Saturday (February 17th) traveling to Chowan University for 2 p.m. tipoff in the Helms Center.
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