Box Score BOWIE, Md. - Bowie State University won their third straight game after caging the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds 98-75 in non-conference men's basketball action on Wednesday evening. PICTURES

"I was concerned about the (10 day) layoff and it took us a couple of minutes to get ourselves going, but once we got going defensively, I thought our press really gave us a tremendous amount of energy and led to easy baskets offensively", said a happy Bulldogs head coach Darrell Brooks.

Bowie State (6-4) had five scorers reach double-figures, including four of its five starters, as the Bulldogs teamed up for a season-high point total while topping 90 points for the third time this season. Senior Carlos Smith (Baltimore, Md.) and fellow senior Ray Gatling (Oxon Hill, Md.) both shot 50-percent from the floor en-route to 20 points scored apiece, along with a combined 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Junior Cameron Knox (Baltimore, Md.) came off the bench to score 14 points on 5-of-8 field goal shooting (3-of-5 from three-point range), and graduate student Brian Freeman (Clinton, Md.) along with senior David Golladay (Upper Marlboro, Md.) each added 10 points as well.

The Bulldogs were the much more efficient offensive team all night, out-shooting UDC 49-percent (35-of-71) to 40-percent (23-of-58) from the field while also totaling 19 assists to 17 turnovers compared to the Firebirds' 11 assists and season-high 26 turnovers. UDC came into the game averaging just 12.5 turnovers per-game, but the Firebirds uncharacteristically committed more than double that.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Omar Abbas (Alexandria, Va.) and Reggie Sidbury (Landover, Md.) helped the Firebirds claim an early 6-2 lead with almost a minute-and-a-half played in the first half. UDC still led 10-6 at the 16-minute mark after a pair of Lenjo Kilo (Silver Spring, Md.) free-throws, but a 14-4 Bulldog upswing gave the hosts a 20-14 advantage with exactly 10 minutes left in the first half.

Later, another Sidbury three-pointer at the 8:49 mark brought the Firebirds within three, 22-19, but Bowie State converted on its next three straight possessions as part of a 6-0 run to go up 28-19 with 6:29 to play in the opening period. The Bulldogs, already leading 33-26, out-scored UDC 16-8 in the final 3:25 of the first half to equal its largest lead of the half, 49-34, as both teams headed to the locker room for the break.
The Bulldogs started the second half on a 7-1 run to take a commanding, 56-35 advantage at the 17:29 mark. Bowie State led 64-41 as the game closed in on 14 minutes, but over a six-minute span, Kilo scored 13 points and Sidbury knocked down two three-pointers to lead the Firebirds on a 24-7 march that pulled them back within six, 71-65, with eight minutes still to play.

A pair of free-throws by Kilo with just under seven minutes left kept it a six-point margin, 73-67, but a jumper by BSU junior Zafir Williams (Philadelphia, Pa.), followed by a Gatling three-pointer, pushed the Firebirds deficit back to 11, 78-67, with 6:09 left. Williams registered a game-high eight assists to go along with two steals and eight points.

Still trailing 81-70, the Firebirds were out-scored 17-5 over the final 5:27, allowing the Bulldogs to equal their largest lead at the final buzzer and win by a score of 98-75. The loss drops the UDC record to 1-6.

Kilo put up career-high numbers of 32 points and 17 rebounds and Sidbury tallied 15 points to pace the Firebirds. Abbas added nine points for UDC and Prince Riston (Greenbelt, Md.) contributed eight points.

The Bulldogs added a game to their 2013-2014 schedule and will play host to the Washington Adventist Shock on Monday (December 16th) night at 7 pm.