William Bailey Earns All-American Status At NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships

(ALBUQUERQUE, NM)  Bowie State University sophomore William Bailey (Upper Marlboro, MD, Bowie) placed sixth overall in the Long Jump at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships hosted by Adams State College.

Bailey went 7.40m in the preliminary event and jumped 7.12m (23-04.50) in the finals which earned him All-American status.  This marks the second time in Bailey's career that he has earned All-American status.  He was selected an All-American in the same event at the 2010 Outdoor Nationals and was also named Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in 2010.

Bulldogs junior Artavius Williams (Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Polytechnic) also participated in the 2011 Indoor Nationals, placing 11th overall in the Triple Jump (14.13m / 46.04.25).

BOWIE STATE FALLS 94-81 IN NCAA REGION SEMIFINAL TO INDIANA (PA)

            (WEST LIBERTY, WV – March 13, 2011) Indiana University of Pennsylvania fell into a 14-point hole in the opening seven minutes of the game before the trio of Ashton Smith, Julian Sanders and Scooter Renkin rallied the Crimson Hawks to a 94-81 win over Bowie State University in the semifinals of the NCAA Atlantic Region.

            The Bulldogs made four 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the game and built an 18-4 lead on a steal by junior Darren Clark with 13:22 left in the half.  Ashton Smith hit a jumper on IUP’s first shot attempt of the game, but the Crimson Hawks missed four shots and committed six turnovers as the Bulldogs surged ahead.

            Renkin got the Crimson Hawks comeback started when he converted a steal into a layup and was fouled, making the free throw for a three-point play.  Smith made three buckets, including a 3-pointer, and Willi Estrella made two free throws at the 10:22 mark to cap a 14-2 run that pulled IUP within 20-16.

            Bowie State (26-3) held a 30-27 lead, but triples by Smith and Julian Sanders put the Crimson Hawks in front 33-30. Scooter Renkin scored seven straight points and his 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining in the first half made it a 40-34 Indiana (PA) lead.  The Crimson Hawks strolled into halftime with a 46-40 advantage.

            Indiana University of Pennsylvania (26-5) shot 57 percent from the field in the first half, hitting 17-of-30, which included five-of nine beyond the arc. 

            Bowie State hit 48 percent of its first period field goals (15-of-31), which included six-of-11 behind the 3-point line.

            The Crimson Hawks used the long ball to get back in the game and eventually pulled away from Bowie State.  IUP was red hot from 3-point distance, connecting on 13-of-19 (68 percent), 60 percent overall from the field and 23-of-26 (89 percent) from the charity stripe.

            Sanders and Smith hit 3-pointers on consecutive IUP possessions to make it 78-69 with 6:09 left in the game, and Darryl Webb along with Kevin Stewart also dialed up 3-pointers on back-to-back shots with the latter giving the Crimson Hawks their first double digit lead of the game at 84-72 with 4:04 remaining.  Webb scored nine points over the final 4:35 and IUP made all six of its free throw attempts in the final minute to secure the win.

            Smith scored a game-high 24 points, Sanders had 22 and Renkin added 14 points to lead five Crimson Hawks in double figures.

            Clark led Bowie State’s Bulldogs with 20 points followed by senior Eric Vann with 15.  Junior Jay Gavin and sophomore Bryan Wilson chipped in a dozen points each in the season ending loss.

(Bowie State U) BULLDOGS ADVANCE WITH 79-59 WIN OVER MANSFIELD

            (WEST LIBERTY, WV – March 12, 2011)  Making their first post season appearance since 2005, Bowie State University took advantage of the opportunity and defeated Mansfield University 79-59 to advance to Sunday’s 5 pm NCAA Regional semifinal.

            Bowie State (23-5), ranked No. 19 in the final NCAA Division II poll, led from start to finish and converted 18 Mansfield turnovers into 32 points. 

The Bulldogs bolted out to a 17-4 lead before the first media timeout and shot 51 percent from the floor in the first half, knocking down 18-of-35.

Mansfield (18-10) really struggled in the first half of play, hitting only eight-of-28 (29 percent) from the field. 

Bowie State held a double-digit lead until a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Mansfield’s Derrison Anthony trimmed the Bulldogs lead to 23-17 at the 10:34 mark of the opening period.

Bowie State went on a 17-3 run over the next 10 minutes and used that momentum for a very comfortable 45-25 cushion by halftime.

The Bulldogs lead grew to a game-high 25 points (50-25) early in the second half, which allowed Bowie State coach Darrell Brooks a chance to go deep into his bench.

“I was very, very thrilled with this post season victory”, said Brooks.  “For our guys to come back and forget about our conference tournament loss and perform the way we did today makes me happy.”

Bowie State juniors Darren Clark and Travis Hyman paced the Bulldogs with 24 and 21 points respectively to lead Bowie State.  Senior Eric Vann added 15 points to go along with four steals and four assists.

“This was a big win for us and tremendous morale booster for the team”, said Clark.

            Yuseff Carr led Mansfield with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds.

            The Bulldogs will take on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks – Sunday (March 13) at 5 pm in the Academic, Sports and Recreation Center (ASRC) on the West Liberty (W.Va.) University campus.