BOX SCORE

(MURFREESBORO, N.C.) Bowie State University, the NCAA's 25th ranked team (2nd in the Atlantic Region), had to fight and claw their way to a 82-75 come from behind road win against the Hawks of Chowan University. With the win, Bowie State remains undefeated in CIAA North play at 7-0, and moves to 18-3 overall, 12-1 CIAA.

Deandre Tyree scored the first four points of the game for the Hawks, leading them to an early 11-6 lead. Charles Rhodes drained a layup and foul shot with 14:55 remaining in the half to give Chowan their largest lead of the half at 18-8. Bowie State responded by going on a 6-1 run over the next minute to cut the Chowan lead to five.

Chowan (3-18, 2-11 CIAA, 2-5 North) again extended their lead to eight when Tyree hit a layup with 10:16 left in the half. At the 3:32 mark, Charles Rhodes became the 8th player in Chowan history to reach the 1,000 point plateau when he drained a free throw. His free throw put the Hawks up 37-32 at that point.

Senior Eric Vann (Clinton, MD, Gwynn Park, Prince George's C.C.) of Bowie State tied the game at 37-37 with 2:10 remaining. It was the first time the teams were tied since the 16:57 mark of the half. Going into intermission, the score was deadlocked at 39.

Neither team could go on a run as the second half began. Tyree hit a reverse layup at the 16:49 mark to put the Hawks ahead 47-45. Quinton McDuffie put Chowan ahead by four at 58-54 with a three pointer with 12:58 remaining in the half. Bowie State fought back to take their first lead of the half at the 59-58 with 11:58 remaining in the game.

Tyree hit a pair of free throws and tipped in an errant shot at the 7:02 mark to give Chowan the lead back at 67-64. Bowie State responded once again with four straight points to take a 68-67 lead. A jumper by junior Travis Hyman (Annapolis, MD, Old Mill, Anne Arundel C.C.) gave the Bulldogs a 78-75 lead with 2:41 left.

BSU sophomore Bryan Wilson (Upper Marlboro, MD, Riverdale Baptist School) hit a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining and junior Darren Clark (Largo, MD, Largo, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania) added two free throws of his own with 10 seconds left to play to slam the door on Chowan.

Tyree led the Hawks with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Mark Brown scored 15 points and McDuffie along with Charles Rhodes added 11 points each.

Sophomore Byron Westmorland (Baltimore, MD, Mergenthaler, Baltimore City C.C.) came off the bench to lead Bowie State with 20 points, scoring 14 in the first half to keep the Bulldogs in the game. Four of five Bowie State starters scored in double figures with Hyman leading the starters with 19 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Vann and Wilson added 16 and 11 points respectively and Clark ended the night with 10 points.

Bowie State shot 24-of-29 (83 percent) from the free throw line for the game. Chowan shot 48 percent from the floor, which included 52 percent in the second half. Bowie State outscored Chowan 21-12 on second chance points and forced the Hawks into 25 turnovers.

“It's never easy on the road and everybody brings their “A” game, especially when they're at home”, said a somewhat satisfied BSU head coach Darrell Brooks. “We just have to be able to bring our “A” game for 40 minutes as well. We haven't been playing our best basketball, but our guys are finding a way to put us into a position to win.”

Bowie State will take their longest win streak of the season (eight games) into Thursday's (February 10th) rematch with Elizabeth City State on the Vikings' home court. Tip time is 7:30 pm.