FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Junior Ahmaad Wilson (Baltimore, Md.) finished with a career-high 28 points in an 80-71 setback for Bowie State in a CIAA road tilt against Fayetteville State on Monday night in FSU’s Capel Arena. The Bulldogs fall to 6-9 overall record and 3-2 in conference play while Fayetteville State moves its overall mark to 6-8 and 2-4 in the conference play.
The Bowie State combo of senior Enuoma Ebinum (Greenbelt, Md.) and junior Dayshawn Wells (Baltimore, Md.) tallied double figure scoring, adding 14 and 10 points respectively. Wilson and Ebinum tied for team-high rebound honors with seven each, which also ties Wilson’s career-high in rebounds.
The game featured four ties and six lead changes with all occurring in the first half. Neither team led by more than four in the first 20 minutes and Fayetteville State’s Broncos took a 30-27 lead into intermission.
The Bulldogs shot a chilly 26.9 percent from the field in the first half on 7-of-26 and managed just 1-of-6 from long range. However, Bowie State kept it close thanks to 12-of-15 at the free throw line. The Broncos also shot 26 first half field goals, making 10 which included 3-of-7 behind the 3-point line and knocked down 7-of-10 at the free throw line.
Bowie State never really got on track in the second half even though the Bulldogs were able to close within one (47-46) at the 10:15 mark following a Wilson triple. However, Fayetteville State went on a 6-0 run to give the home team a little breathing room at 53-46.
The Bulldogs still had some fight left in them closing the gap back down to three at 72-69 on another Wilson triple but time was not on Bowie State’s side with 46 seconds remaining in the game. From that point, Bowie State was forced to foul on every possession, allowing Fayetteville State to close out the game with eight consecutive free throws.
Two Broncos flirted with a double-double as Joshua Dawson recorded 28 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, 11-of-14 free throws and nine rebounds while teammate Michael Tyson added 13 points and nine rebounds. Josh Bryant rounded out Fayetteville State’s double figure scorers, tallying 10 points.
In terms of team statistics, Fayetteville State finished the night hitting 22-of-54 field goals (40.7 percent) and converted 31-of-42 free throws (73.8 percent). The Broncos advantages in points in the paint (30-14), points off turnovers (16-4), second chance points (13-8) and bench points (19-9).
Bowie State edged Fayetteville State on the glass, 41-40. As for shooting percentages, the Bulldogs shot 32.8 percent overall (19-of-58) and made 79.4 percent of their free throws (31-of-42.
The Bulldogs will look to pick up one win during this three-game CIAA Southern Division road swing when they return to action on Wednesday (January 11th) at Shaw University. Tip-time is set for 8 p.m. in the C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium.
