BOWIE, Md. – The Bowie State University Bulldogs used a huge second half run to claim an 84-80, cross-divisional contest against Johnson C. Smith. The victory improves Bowie State 5-6 overall and 1-1 in the conference. JCSU’s Golden Bulls move to 7-5 overall and 0-2 in the CIAA.
“We did a tremendous job defending in the second half” said an elated Bowie State head coach Darrell Brooks. “We didn’t press full court as much tonight as we normally do, but we thrive off of turnovers that lead into fast breaks.”
The opening half was close early until JCSU grasped an advantage. BSU scored the first five points, but JCSU’s Terrence Washington (Charleston, SC) put the Golden Bulls on the scoreboard with a layup. After about seven and half minutes of play, the contest reached its third tie off a jumper from Trevin Parks (Hickory, NC) of the Golden Bulls.
Following the jumper, Parks hit two free throws to give Johnson C. Smith a 20-18 lead. From there, the Golden Bulls had plenty of success feeding Emilio Parks (Ashtabula, OH) in the post. Bowie State went into the locker room at halftime trailing 51-43. The Bulldogs were outscored 34-18 in the paint for the first half.
The Parks’ duo combined for 28 points in the initial period. Trevin had 16 points off 83% (5-of-6) shooting and Emilio had 12 points shooting 75% (6-of-8) from the field. Washington added eight points to the first half total. Johnson C. Smith shot 63.6% (21-of-33) from the floor as a team, compared to 48% (16-of-35) for Bowie State.
Bulldogs senior Najee White (Jamaica Queens, N.Y.) led the Bulldogs with 17 points, followed by the leading scorer in NCAA Division II Byron Westmorland (Baltimore, Md.) with 12 points.
Johnson C. Smith stayed on the attack initially in the second half. After an old fashion three-point play from Robert Williams (Atlanta, GA), the Golden Bulls held a 64-51 advantage with 13:56 remaining. Bowie State turned the tides from that point with a 19-0 run over the next six minutes to regain the lead for good at 70-64. Prior to BSU’s burst, the last time the Bulldogs led was at the 13:33 mark of the first half.
The Golden Bulls got within two (76-74) with 3:05 left to play, but would not get any closer. Bowie State was able to close out the game from the foul line for the win.
Trevin Parks had a team-high 24 points, but he also had nine turnovers. Emilio Parks concluded with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Williams added 13 points and four assists, while Washington had a contribution of 10 points, four rebounds, and a game-high four blocks.
White had a game-high 27 points to lead the Bulldogs, followed by a career-night by junior Ray Gatling (Oxon Hill, Md.) with 21. Westmorland ended the night 14 points.
Johnson C. Smith only shot 32% (8-of-25) from the field in the second half, including 0-6 from the three point line.
Bowie State closes out its three-game home stand Monday, January 7th versus the defending CIAA Champions of Winston-Salem State University. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in the A.C. Jordan Arena.
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