BOX SCORE

(RICHMOND, Va.) The second ranked Bulldogs of Bowie State University overcame a 15 point deficit and owned Virginia Union in overtime, capturing a key 87-83 road win against the Panthers. With the win, Bowie State stays unbeaten in the CIAA Northern Division at 5-0 and improve to 10-1 in the CIAA and 16-3 overall.

Virginia Union (9-7, 7-4 CIAA, 4-2 North) led the entire first half and seemed to get offensive rebound after offensive rebound, walking into halftime with 37-30 lead over the division leading Bulldogs. The Panthers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before and extended that lead to as much as eight points (20-12) with a little over eight minutes remaining in the first period.

The Panthers held a 28-23 rebound advantage (12 on offense) in the opening half. VUU's Justin Ramsey was a beast on the glass, hauling down nine in just 10 minutes of action.

Bowie State had a tough time converting free throws in the first half, making 10-of-18 from the charity stripe. Field goal shooting was not favorable for the Bulldogs either, as Bowie State shot nine-of-29 from the floor, which included two-for-11 beyond the arc.

Virginia Union came out on fire in the first six minutes of the second half, going six-of seven from the field to take a 51-37 lead which forced the Bulldogs to call a timeout.

Bowie State came out of the timeout and went on a 14-7 run to trim the deficit to 59-51 with just over 10 minutes left in the contest.

A dunk by junior Travis Hyman (Annapolis, MD, Old Mill, Anne Arundel C.C.) cut the Virginia Union lead to a deuce at 69-67 with 3:55 remaining, forcing the Panthers to call a timeout. Sophomore Byron Westmorland (Baltimore, MD, Mergenthaler, Baltimore City C.C.) tied the game at 71-71 on a reverse layup.

Senior Eric Vann (Clinton, MD, Gwynn Park, Prince George's C.C.) just missed on a long three-pointer as time expired in regulation, sending the game into overtime.

Junior Darren Clark (Largo, MD, Largo, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania) opened the extra period with a trey and Vann (14 points) drilled a triple from just in front of the Bowie State bench with 3:10 remaining in overtime to give Bowie State all the momentum they would need. Hyman and Vann followed that with back-to-back dunks that gave the Bulldogs an 85-78 lead with 97 seconds remaining.

Bowie State nailed four-of-five from the field in overtime (80 percent), which included two-of-two beyond the arc.

“This was a quality win for our program”, said a very happy Bowie State coach Darrell Brooks. “Virginia Union is a staple in CIAA and we you go into their place and get a win, they way we did, I'm very proud of my guys!”

Westmorland poured in a career-high 28 points and Clark added 20 to pace the Bulldogs. Hyman just missed a double-double, grabbing 16 rebounds to go along with eight blocked shots and nine points. Sophomore Bryan Wilson (Upper Marlboro, MD, Riverdale Baptist School) rounded out Bowie State's double digit scorers with 11 points.

Virginia Union was led by Braxton Byerson with 25 points to along with seven rebounds. Wayne Ford chipped in 12 points and Ramsey recorded a double-double (10 points and 13 rebounds) before fouling out in the extra frame.

Bowie State University will make-up a postponed game with Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, hosting the Lions on Super Bowl Sunday (February 6th) at 4 pm.