No. 9 Bulldogs Sink Vikings

BOWIE, MD---With the game against Elizabeth City State University seemingly in hand, Bowie State University head coach Luke D'Alessio emptied his bench with just over three minutes to play. The Vikings outscored the Bulldogs 21-8 over that stretch, but the Bulldogs were able to come away with the 88-81 win.

The Bulldogs' big men and a solid shooting night from behind the arc powered the No. 9 Bulldogs to their 15th-consecutive victory as they improved to 19-1 overall, 11-0 in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and 5-0 in the Eastern Division.

Senior forward Tim Washington continued his push to be named the 2003 CIAA Player of the Year as he led the Bulldogs with 27 points, 9 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists. Frontcourt mate Jon Smith recorded a double-double as he had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Omarr Smith helped keep the Bulldogs' lead in double digits for the majority of the second half as he made 3-of-5 from 3-point rangecin the half, finishing with 17 points and point guard Cornelius McMurray had 10 points and eight assists.

The Vikings (7-12, 3-6 CIAA) were slowing the game down in the first half, but the Bulldogs did a good job defensively, forcing the Vikings to take contested jumpers at every turn.

As the Bulldogs' lead started to expand and time started to grow short, the Vikings started to bomb away from 3-point range with success, hitting 11-of-22 for the game. Courtney Ogelsby hit five 3-pointers and had a team-high 25 points. Tyrone Smith made two from downtown to finish with 17 points and Rob Legister added 15 to the mix.

After playing at least three games a week for the past three weeks, the Bulldogs get to take a breather from outside competition. They won't play again until after the next national rankings come out next Tuesday, hosting Virginia Union University at 7:30 p.m.