Bulldogs Go Inside For Win

PETERSBURG, VA, ---Hoping to break into the upcoming national rankings on Tuesday, the Bowie State University Bulldogs kept the pressure on the voters with their Saturday afternoon performance.

Leading from the onset, the Bulldogs won their fourth-consecutive road game with their 74-59 win at conference rival Virginia State University. The win gave the Bulldogs their best start in school history as they improved to 10-1 and ran their Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association record to 4-0.

The win was an atypical one for the Bulldogs, who entered the game averaging eight made three-pointers-a-game. The Bulldogs only sank two from behind the arc, but considering they recorded a season-low with just five attempts, head coach Luke D'Alessio was able to live with the 40 percent completion rate.

Where the Bulldogs earned over half of their points was in the paint, which was controlled by their three-headed Hydra of Division I transfers; Jon Smith (Virginia Tech), Tim Washington (American) and Shawn Hampton (Rutgers).

Smith was in control in the first half when he scored 13 of his game-high 18 points. When Smith was sent to the bench with four fouls in the second half, Washington took over scoring 12 of his 17 points in that stanza and finished with 14 rebounds. Hampton, who was playing in just his fourth game for the Bulldogs, played alongside either Smith or Washington and chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.

Stephen Moss-Kelley quietly scored 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs while Cornelius McMurray handed out five assists.

The Trojans (3-6, 1-2) never seriously threatened the Bulldogs in the second half and were hurt by their ineffective shooting (19-66) from the field. When the Trojans missed they didn't get many rebounds either as the Bulldogs held a 55-37 rebounding edge.

Bulldogs' guard Omarr Smith put the defensive clamps on the Trojans' leading-scorer Deshone Nichols, who entered averaging 16 points-per-game, but came away with seven on Saturday. He was able to keep helping out in other areas, however, as he had five assists and five steals.

Kanadi Hall led the Trojans with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while James Mackey and Brian Henderson had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Bulldogs begin a stretch of four home games in seven days, beginning with the Eagles of North Carolina Central University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.