Box Score BOWIE, Md. – Junior Cameron Knox (Baltimore, Md.) came off the Bowie State bench and scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Bulldogs 72-69 over Virginia State.  With the win, Bowie State moves one game closer to claiming the CIAA Northern Division crown with a 7-2 record.
 
Bowie State (14-12, 8-7 CIAA) also got double-figure scoring from seniors Ray Gatling (Oxon Hill, Md.) and Carlos Smith (Baltimore, Md.) with 15 and 13 points respectively. Senior David Golladay (Upper Marlboro, Md.) grabbed a career and game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points, three steals and two assists.
 
The first half featured five ties and six lead changes with each team's largest lead being five points. Bowie State went into halftime with a slim 39-38 lead, knocking down 50 percent of their first half field goals (14-of-28) and 9-of-12 free throws (75 percent).
 
In comparison, Virginia State made 14-of-29 first half field goals (48.3 percent), which included 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) behind the 3-point line. The Trojans were a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line in the first 20 minutes of action.
 
The second half of play was nip and tuck the entire way and came down to a pair of free throws by Gatling with 1.4 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs the victory.
 
Virginia State held a 56-51 lead at the 11:47 mark of the second half after a pair of free throws by Trey Hicks (Petersburg, Va.).
 
Back-to-back jumpers by Smith tied the game at 61-all, but a jumper by Virginia State's Elijah Moore (Yorktown, Va.) and a Chris Grier (Stone Mountain, Ga.) free throw shifted the advantage back over to the Trojans at 64-61.
 
A pair of Gatling free throws and a Smith dunk shifted the advantage back over to the Bulldogs at 65-64 with 6:11 remaining in the game and Bowie State would never trail again.
 
"If you look at the stats, we didn't shoot free throws well and we were out-rebounded, but we defended really well (especially late in the game), holding them to 3-of-16 over the last seven minutes of the game", said Bowie State head coach Darrell Brooks.
 
The Trojans had four players to score in double figures with three of those coming off the bench. Starting guard Lamar Kearse (Syracuse, N.Y.) led his team with 14 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Allen Harris (Boston, Mass.) added 13 points while Kevin Wiggins (Newport News, Va.) and James Vann (Norfolk, Va.) contributed 11 and 10 points respectively.
 
The Bulldogs will close out the regular season on Saturday (2/22) afternoon in a nationally televised home finale against Elizabeth City State. Game time is set for 4:05 pm in BSU's A.C. Jordan Arena. Prior to the game, seven Bulldog seniors will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony.