ETTRICK, Va. – Bowie State secured its third straight win, but it wasn’t easy as the Bulldogs held off Virginia State by a score of 62-59. The victory sets the Bulldogs record to 3-1 in the North, 5-3 in the CIAA and 10-11 overall
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was sophomore Andre Jackson (Owings Mills, Md.) with a game-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior Carlos Smith (Baltimore, Md.) and fellow senior Ray Gatling (Oxon Hill, Md.) contributed 13 and 12 points respectively.
Larry Savage (Onancock, Va.) led the Trojans with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Lamar Kearse (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Allen Harris (Boston, Mass.) recorded 10 points each. Kevin Wiggins (Newport News, Va.) and Kahill Tate (Washington, D.C.) ripped down a game-high seven rebounds apiece.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead on a pair of free throws by Smith, a 3-pointer by Gatling and a triple by Smith.
Virginia State (11-8, 4-4 CIAA, 2-2 North) responded with an 8-2 run to close the gap to 10-8 at the 15:37 mark and a jumper by Harris created the games first tie at 12-all.
A Smith layup and free throw put Bowie State back in front at 15-12 only to have VSU’s Harris give the Trojans their first lead of the night at 16-15.
The Virginia State lead was brief following back-to-back field goals by junior Cameron Knox (Baltimore, Md.) and a trifecta by Jackson to give Bowie State a little breathing room 22-16.
The lead would actually change hands one more time with Virginia State heading into the locker room with a 36-34 lead at halftime.
The second half was back and forth affair and featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes. Neither team led by more than four in the final 20 minutes.
Following the 12th tie of the second half, Bowie State junior Zafir Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.) popped a jumper with 4:54 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 58-56 lead.
Both teams went scoreless over the next three minutes until Virginia State’s Kearse drilled a 3-pointer to shift the advantage over to the Trojans with 1:34 left in this key Northern Division clash.
BSU’s Jackson was fouled by Kearse 13 seconds later and Jackson converted both free throws to put the Bulldogs in front for good.
Virginia State had an opportunity to steal a win, but their last shot attempt missed the mark, BSU’s Smith grabbed the rebounded and found a wide open Williams for an easy layup as time expired.
“At this time of the year, this was a much needed win”, said a very happy Bulldogs head coach Darrell Brooks. “I just really proud of our guys because it was tough, physical game on the road and we stuck together … This would have been a tough game to lose and I know it was tough for them (VSU) because both teams worked their butts off!”
Bowie State will travel to Elizabeth City (N.C.) State to take on the Vikings at 5pm Saturday
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