BULLDOGS RALLY LATE TO OVERTAKE FAYETTEVILLE STATE 82-79

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - After a tough loss in the final seconds, the Bowie State men’s basketball team got back into the win column with an, 82-79 victory over Fayetteville State Monday evening.

With the victory, the Bulldogs improved to 7-8 overall on the season while evening their record in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association to 3-3. Meanwhile the Broncos dropped to 8-7 overall (3-3 CIAA).

The Bulldogs had a balanced scoring effort with four players scoring 15 or more points.

Meanwhile, only one Broncos player (Tyrrel Tate) scored in double figures. Tate poured in a game-high 35 points for Fayetteville State, hitting 11-of-20 field goals and 11-of-13 free throws. Two Broncos recorded double digit rebounds with Sheldonte Fields and Louis Craft snatching down 12 and 10 boards respectively.

The Bulldogs’ defense stifled Fayetteville State to just 40.6 percent shooting for the game. The Bulldogs’ totaled 11 steals for the contest.

Senior Najee White (Jamaica Queens, N.Y.) had a dominant performance for the Bulldogs with a game high 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, his fifth career- double-double.  Fellow senior Byron Westmorland (Baltimore, Md.) also performed well with 15 points and 9 rebounds.  Westmorland’s fellow Baltimore native Carlos Smith scored 17 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Bulldogs’ junior Ray Gatling (Oxon Hill, Md.) chipped in 15 points and 5 assists.

The Bulldogs led in the first half for the game’s first 18-plus minutes, including holding a seven-point, 20-13, advantage after the game’s first ten minutes. The Broncos took the lead with 1:56 remaining in the first half on a jump shot from Juwan Addison put the Broncos up, 35-34. The Broncos would take a, 41-40, lead into the half.

The Broncos raced to an 11-point lead, 65-54, lead with 11:06 remaining in the second half.

But the Bulldogs would not relent and slowly chipped away at the deficit before taking a one-point lead after a layup by Gatling put his team up, 71-70, with 3:56 remaining in the game.

The Broncos regained the lead on back-to-back field goals by Tate and a layup by Craft, putting Fayetteville State in front 79-73, with only 1:55 remaining in the game.

From there, the Bulldogs went on a, 6-0, run and tied the game, 79-79, with only 37 seconds remaining in the game. A free throw by White and a layup by senior Bryan Wilson (Upper Marlboro, Md.) put the Bulldogs’ up for good, 82-79, with only 11 seconds remaining in the game.

After three-consecutive games on the road, the Bulldogs return home Saturday (1/19) to face Lincoln University of Pennsylvania at 4 pm in nationally televised CIAA divisional clash.