BOWIE, Md. - Redshirt junior David Belle pumped in a career-high 24 points and hauled down a game-high 10 rebounds to lead Bowie State University to a 74-70 upset of previously unbeaten Shippensburg University on Wednesday evening in the A.C. Jordan Arena. The Shippensburg Raiders (8-1) were ranked #11 in the latest NABC Coaches Poll coming into the contest.
 
"We knew they were a tough, physical team coming in, a smart team and they shot the ball really well which was a concern of ours", said Bowie State Head Coach Darrell Brooks. "We felt if we could defend them, especially the 3-point line and rebound, that would give us a chance to win. Our speed and quickness were an advantage and I thought our pressure forced them to play out of rhythm most of the game."
 
Shippensburg and Bowie State each led for almost an equal amount of time in the game – 17:56 for the Raiders and 17:53 for the Bulldogs. After leading most of the first half, Bowie State led by three at the intermission before Shippensburg gained a four-point advantage with 13:29 left after an 11-2 run. Bowie then re-took the lead with 10:44 remaining and would not trail the rest of the way, leading by as many as nine points down the stretch.
 
The Raiders actually shot better from three-point range (36.7 percent) on 11-of-30 shooting than it did overall (36.2 percent) on 25-of-69. Antonio Kellem and Lamar Talley each hit three three-pointers in the second half, while John Castello contributed a pair in the first half.
 
Castello led the Raiders with 22 points, scoring 16 of those points in the first half. Kellem, who was limited to three minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, finished with 11 points. Jake Biss had 12 points and four assists, while Talley finished with 11 points.
 
Shippensburg's Manny Span had five points, six rebounds and three assists, while Dom Sleva contributed six points and six rebounds off the bench. Daylon Carter provided three points, three rebounds and two assists.
 
Bowie State (4-5) won its fourth straight game on the strength of an 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) effort at the free-throw line and by shooting 51 percent on its two-point attempts. Both the Bulldog and Raiders committed just nine turnovers on the night.
 
In addition to Belle's production, junior Saiquan Jamison had nine points and 11 rebounds, while fellow junior Cameron Hayes scored 15 off the bench for the Bulldogs. Juniors Rinardo Perry and Juwun Smith tallied seven points each on a combined 5-of-18 shooting from the field. Sophomore Keith Duffin, Jr. and junior Yohance Fleming chipped in six points apiece to round out Bowie State's scorers.
 
The Bulldogs make a short trip over to the University of the District of Columbia on Monday (12/10) evening to face the Firebirds at 7:30 p.m. as part of a non-conference doubleheader with the Bulldog women.