Washington D.C. Area Sports Update 12/08/11

TURNOVERS AND POOR SHOOTING COSTLY IN 74-54 LOSS AT UDC, BULLDOGS MAKE GOOD IN HOME DEBUT BEATING CALIFORNIA (PA) 84-75

Date Released: 12/10/2011

TURNOVERS AND POOR SHOOTING COSTLY IN 74-54 LOSS AT UDC (WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 5, 2011) A very slow start and a season-high 27 turnovers were primary reasons for Bowie State’s 74-54 setback at the University of the District of Columbia. The win keeps the Firebirds record unblemished at 6-0. The Firebirds began the game with an 8-0 run. However, Bowie State managed to pull within seven twice in the first half, primarily on the play of senior Juliette Turner. With the Lady Bulldogs trailing 17-9 at the 10:05 mark, Turner scored 10 of the final 21 points of the opening period. The game went back and forth in terms of runs for the remainder of the first half and the Firebirds went into the locker room with a 37-30 lead. Turnovers were a common problem for both teams in the first half. The University of the District of Columbia committed 16 miscues and Bowie State committed 19. Bowie State shot a disappointing 9-of-33 from the field (27 percent) in the first half and 9-of-18 from the free throw line. UDC attempted 33 first half field goals as well, making 13, but went a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe over the first 20 minutes. The second half presented more of the same as the Firebirds maintained control for most of the game. However, Bowie State trimmed the deficit to 41-37 by the 16:08 mark of the second half on a breakaway layup by Turner. Turner cut the UDC lead to two on their next possession, but the Firebirds ran off 13 unanswered points to seize control of the game for good. Dohnay Banice recorded game-highs of 20 points and added a dozen rebounds to lead the University of the District of Columbia. Jamilia Bonner and Lauren Brittingham scored in double figures as well, tallying 19 and 10 points respectively. Jasmine Rich handed out a game-high seven assists for the Firebirds. Turner led Bowie State in scoring for the fourth straight game, pacing the Lady Bulldogs with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds. Sophomore Brooke Miles contributed 10 points and fellow sophomore Chanet Wallace added nine points. Bowie State’s Lady Bulldogs ended the night shooting just 28 percent field from the floor (17-of-60) and 49 percent from the free throw line (16-of-33). Bowie State (0-5) returns to the court on Saturday (December 10th), making a return trip to Shepherdstown (W.Va.) to face the 4-3 Rams of Shepherd University. BULLDOGS MAKE GOOD IN HOME DEBUT BEATING CALIFORNIA (PA) 84-75 (BOWIE, Md. – December 6, 2011) In a game of firsts, the 20th ranked Bulldogs of Bowie State University won its home opener 84-75 over the Vulcans of California University of Pennsylvania. The win was also Bowie State’s first career-win against California (PA) after four previous setbacks dating back to the early 1980’s. With the victory, the Bulldogs improve their record to 4-1 overall while the Vulcans drop to 5-2 overall. Bowie State senior Darren Clark tied his career-high of 28 points and added nine rebounds, six assists and three steals to pace the Bulldogs. Fellow senior Jay Gavin finished the night with 17 points and a BSU career-high five assist, while junior Dameatric Scott posted 10 points before fouling out. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the first five minutes of the contest before extending its lead to nine points, 17-8 with 12:13 remaining before halftime. The Vulcans then mounted an 8-2 rally on a traditional three-point play by Mitchell Weedon (Frederick, Md.) and back-to-back buckets by Chad Tipton (Hanover, Pa.) to trim the deficit to 19-16 at the 10:03 mark. Bowie State responded by pushing the lead back to nine before the California (Pa.) cut the deficit to 38-37 at intermission following a jumper by Travon Vann (Frederick, Md.). The Vulcans took their first lead of the game in the opening seconds of the second half and quickly had a four-point lead, 42-38, after a three-point play by CJ Townes (Joppatowne, Md.) at the 19:40 mark. Bowie State tied the game less than two minutes later before taking the final lead change of the game with 15:51 left in the second half. With the Bulldogs holding a 61-53 advantage, California (Pa.) ran off seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to one point (61-60), following a lay-up by Townes with 9:09 remaining. The Bulldogs maintained the lead and stretched it to as many as 12 points, 78-66, with 2:28 left to play. Vann and Fortune each scored a team-high 14 points to lead the California (Pa.) Vulcans. Tipton added a dozen points and Chris Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with nine points. Bowie State shot 63 percent (17-of-27) from the field in the second half and closed out the evening at 50 percent (28-of-56) overall. However, second half free throw shooting could have come back to bite the Bulldogs as Bowie State hit just eight-of-21 from the charity stripe. BSU ended the game shooting 56.4 percent (22-of-39) from the free throw line and held a slim 39-38 rebound margin. In comparison, California (Pa.) was held to a season-low 36.5 percent (19-of-32) from the field and shot just 26.7 percent beyond the arc. The Vulcans were successful at the free throw line, knocking down 33-of-44 for 75 percent. Bowie State will play another non-conference game on Thursday (12/8) night, hosting the Mountain Cats of the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Game time is set for 7 pm in BSU’s A.C. Jordan Arena.