BOWIE, Md. – Bowie State University junior Ahmaad Wilson (Baltimore, Md.) scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half and seniors Michael Briscoe (Waldorf, Md.) and Enuoma Ebinum (Greenbelt, Md.) added 16 and 12 points respectively, but Virginia State University was victorious, claiming a 71-64 win on Wednesday evening before an overflow crowd in the A.C. Jordan Arena.  PHOTOS (Courtesy of Carroll Smith)
 
The Bulldogs setback puts Bowie State's season record at 7-13, 4-6 in CIAA play and 0-4 in the conference's Northern Division.
 
"I thought they were just a tougher basketball team", said Bowie State head coach Darrell Brooks. "They out-rebounded us by 20 (51-31) and any time there was a toughness play that had to be made, they made it."
 
The division leading Virginia State Trojans (16-3, 8-1 CIAA, 4-0 North) led from beginning to end and were paced by Richard Granberry (Chester, Pa.) with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with six rebounds, two assists and a block in just 21 minutes of action. Elijah Moore (Yorktown, Va.) exploded for a double-double of 19 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. Walter Williams (Richmond, Va.) rounded out Virginia State's double figure scorers with 12 points.
 
Bowie State put themselves into a 5-0 deficit off the opening tip and trailed by a game-high 12 points (32-20) at the 2:16 mark of the first half. The defending CIAA Champion Trojans of Virginia State strolled into halftime with a 34-26 advantage.
 
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 20-8 run to close the deficit to 42-40 at the 15:09 mark but the Trojans scored four straight to give the visitors a little breathing room at 46-40 two minutes later.
 
Bowie State kept battling and closed the gap to three points, four times and within two again at 54-52 after a pair of free throws by junior Omari George (Baltimore, Md.) with 6:06 remaining. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs just couldn't seem to catch a break down the stretch, dropping its fourth straight game and sixth of their last seven.
 
"We're really, really close and our guys understand that we have to just keep working … We tell our guys it's one game at a time, one practice at a time and we have to get five percent better in everything we do", said Brooks.
 
The Bulldogs return to the hardwood on Saturday (January 28th), hosting the Vikings of Elizabeth City State at 4 p.m. in the A.C. Jordan Arena.