BOX SCORE

(BOWIE, MD) Bowie State had no trouble beating visiting Virginia State as the Bulldogs rolled to an easy 100-85 CIAA Eastern Division victory over the Trojans. Senior David Paris recorded his first double-double of the season, leading the Bulldogs with a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.

For the second game in a row, Bowie State's defense stepped up big, holding the opponent scoreless early in the contest. Bowie State had Virginia State on the ropes early, exploding out the box for a 9-0 advantage. Virginia State's Trey Mines finally put the guest on the scoreboard at the 16:33 mark but it was clear which team was better on this day. The Bulldogs lead hit double-digits midway through the first half (21-11) and ballooned to 34-17 with 5:32 remaining in the half. VSU's Trojans went on an 11-2 run to close the gap to 36-28 but went into halftime trailing 43-33. Mines and Terrell Crockett scored a combined 16 points over the first 20 minutes, making seven-of-11 from the field.

Bowie State continued to punish Virginia State in the second half but Trojans head coach Anthony Collins assured his Trojans they were fine. This statement must have built Virginia State's confidence, as the Trojans erased a 19-point deficit (63-44) and trimmed the Bowie State lead to eight points again (75-66) with 7:12 left on the BSU A.C. Jordan Arena scoreboard. However, just like the first half, that's as close as Virginia State would get. Bowie State torched the twine at a 71 percent clip (22-of-31) in the second stanza but struggled from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs made 18-of-30 from the free throw line compared to 11-of-12 for Virginia State.

Mines poured in a game-high 28 points, making nine-of-14 from the floor which included six-of-10 behind the 3-point line. Crockett was the only other Trojans player to score in double figures, adding 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Besides Paris, three other Bowie State starters ended the evening in double figures. Seniors Jason Ingram and Carlos Williams scored 17 points apiece and fellow seniors Joshua Johnson and Orlando Wright added another 16 and 11 points respectively. Ingram and Johnson made seven-of-eight field goal attempts each and Williams dished out a season-high and game-high 13 assists. The Bulldogs finished the game with a season-high 60.7 percent field goal shooting percentage.

The win improves the Bulldogs record to 8-5, evened its CIAA record at 3-3 and moved BSU to 2-1 in the Eastern Division. Virginia State falls to 3-9 on the year, 1-2 in the CIAA and 0-1 in the East.

Bowie State will head south to take on the Bears of Shaw University next Saturday (1/12) before returning home for games against Johnson C. Smith (1/17) and Livingstone (1/19). Virginia State returns to action next Tuesday (1/8) with a date at Livingstone.