Box Score (BOWIE, Md.) The 15th ranked Bulldogs of Bowie State University had a tough first half, but pulled away in the final period and rolled to a 97-85 win over the Fayetteville State University.

Fayetteville State gave Bowie State all they could handle for a half.  But a brilliant 6-minute stretch spanning the halftime break was enough for the Bulldogs to prevail in the CIAA opener for both teams on Thursday night.

In a matchup of the CIAA's top two scoring teams, Bowie State was able to overcome a sterling shooting performance by Fayetteville State's Jarmel Baxter.  Baxter finished with a game-high 18 points, setting a new career-high for 3-point field goals made in a single game with six.

Paced by Baxter's four triples and 12 points, Fayetteville State (2-6, 0-1 CIAA) trailed just 45-42 at the half. The teams traded the lead several times, with the Broncos recovering from an early seven-point deficit to take a 40-36 edge with 2:41 to go in the half after Tyrrel Tate's jumper.

But Bowie State (9-1, 1-0 CIAA) was only getting started.

The game was tied entering the final seconds of the half before senior Jay Gavin buried a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to give Bowie State the 3-point advantage, closing the first half on a 9-2 spurt.

Gavin added another 3 in the opening minute of the second period while senior Darren Clark put together a three-point play, stretching the Bulldogs' run to 14-2 and the lead to 51-42 just 67 seconds into the half.

In all, the Bulldogs scored 14 unanswered points to open the period, stretching the scoring run to 23-2 for a 59-42 lead just over three minutes into the second half.

Fayetteville State managed to recover midway through the period, and on Baxter's sixth 3-ponter, the Broncos trailed 79-67 with 7:59 remaining. But the Bulldogs, who shot 53 percent from the field for the game, quickly pushed the lead back to 16 to regain control.

“A string of second half stops really helped us pull away”, said third year coach Darrell Brooks.  “When asked about the Bulldogs balance this season, Brooks responded, “We do everything by committee and hopefully that will be the strength for us this year … We have the depth, especially inside.”

Gavin and senior Travis Hyman led five Bowie State players in double figures with 16 points apiece. Sophomore Julian Williams and junior Byron Westmorland added 12 points each while junior Dameatric Scott chipped in 11.

Tim Plummer added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Broncos while Tate chipped in 13 points and a game-high three steals.

Bowie State will take their six-game winning streak on the road, making stops at Winston-Salem State (January 9th), Shaw (January 12th) and Saint Augustine's (January 14th).  The Bulldogs' next home contest will take place Monday, January 16th versus Livingstone College.  Game time is set for 7:30 pm in BSU's A.C. Jordan Arena.