Bowie State Bulldogs Capture 91-83 Home Victory over Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish

Bowie State Bulldogs Capture 91-83 Home Victory over Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish

BOWIE, Md. - The Bowie State University men's basketball team captured a 91-93 win over the visiting Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish on Tuesday evening in the A.C. Jordan Arena. The Bulldogs move to 8-4 on the season with the win while the Sailfish drop to 5-3 on the season with the setback. The win, Bowie State’s second straight in as many nights, mark the final non-conference regular season game of the season.
Senior Cameron Knox (Baltimore, Md.) led all players in the contest with 23 points for the Bulldogs. Junior Justin Beck (Ellicott City, Md.) tallied his second double-double of the year (19 points and 10 rebounds) while freshman Ahmaad Wilson (Baltimore, Md.) added 13 points. Juniors Miles Jackson (Silver Spring, Md.) and Andre Jackson (Baltimore, Md.) chipped in 11 points apiece for the Bowie State.

Ronnell Ross (Harlem, N.Y.) and Garet Tucker (Rapids City, S.D.) were Palm Beach Atlantic’s top scorers with 20 points each in the loss. Ross also led the Sailfish with nine rebounds. Evin Graham (Fort Myers, Fla.) contributed 19 points and Michael Simpson (Spring, Texas) added 10 points for the Sailfish.

Holding on to a 36-31 advantage after the first half, the Bulldogs came out scorching to start the second stanza. The hosts went on a 16-4 run to effectively bury the Sailfish, who were never able to fully recover after Bowie State’s hot start.

Palm Beach Atlantic trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, but were able to cut that deficit down to just seven with just under a minute to go thanks to a Graham three, but Bowie State went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the game.

Palm Beach Atlantic won the rebounding battle on the night, 41-36, but turned the ball over 17 times compared to the Bulldogs’ nine. The Sailfish shot 48 percent (29-for-61) from the floor for the game and 35 percent (9-for-26) from the free throw line.

After holding the Bulldogs to 36 percent (12-for-33) from the floor and 23 percent (3-for-13) from the three-point line in the first half, Bowie State shot 53 percent (18-for-34) in the second stanza and 36 percent (4-for-11) from beyond the arc to fuel a 60-point half. The 60 points is the most for a single half this season.

“I’m extremely happy with tonight’s performance”, stated sixth year Bowie State head coach Darrell Brooks. “We will schedule games (back-to-back) like this each year because it kind of simulates (CIAA) Tournament play. Our guys responded well defensively at points in the second half, especially our bench … they gave us a tremendous lift off the bench with 31 points.”
The Bulldogs will now wrap-up final exams and break for Christmas before opening conference play on January 1^st, hosting the defending CIAA Champions of Livingstone College at 7:30 pm. The BSU women’s basketball team will begin the New Year’s Day events with a 5:30 pm contest against Livingstone’s Lady Blue Bears.