BOWIE, Md. – Bowie State University went flat after halftime and lost a key CIAA Northern Division game to Virginia Union University by a final score of 74-52, The loss snapped a Bulldogs four-game winning streak, but leaves Bowie State in second place in the division with a record of 5-2.
 
Freshman Jacob Long (Washington, D.C.) came off the Bulldogs bench to pace the team with 12 points while senior Omar George (Baltimore, Md.) contributed 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.
 
Virginia Union's Panthers hit 50 percent of their shots in the first half (13-of-26) compared to 36 percent (9-of-25) for Bowie State's Bulldogs. First half 3-pointers (4-of-10) and free throws (6-of-13) are what kept the Bulldogs close over the first 20 minutes of action.
 
With the Bulldogs trailing the Panthers 29-28 at halftime, Bowie State went ice cold in the second half as Virginia Union used a 18-7 run to break the game open. With the scored tied 32-all at the 15:32 mark, VUU used a 15-3 burst to give the Panthers a comfortable 48-35 lead before a layup by BSU's Cameron Hayes (Upper Marlboro, Md.) stopped the run.
 
Virginia Union (12-13, 7-6 CIAA, 3-4 North) had no trouble keeping their double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, outscoring Bowie State 45-24 in the final half of play.
 
The Panthers maintained their 50 percent field goal shooting in the second half, making 14-of-28 from the floor. However, the Bulldogs shot a frigid 18.2 percent from the field (4-of-22) over the final 20 minutes. In fact, Bowie State's field goal in the second half didn't occur until the 11:52 mark via a long layup.
 
Virginia Union University's Kory Cooley (Washington, D.C.) led the Panthers with 19 points and William Jenkins (Baltimore, Md.) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. VUU's Todd Hughes (Smyra, Del.) had 13 points while James Paige (Herndon, Va.) added 11 points. Hughes and Paige were also responsible for seven rebounds each.
 
The Panthers held advantages in points in the paint (38-14), points off turnovers (23-13), bench points (32-28) and rebounds 39-36.
 
Bowie State men's basketball (12-12, 7-6 CIAA) make their final regular season road trip on Saturday (February 17th) traveling to Chowan University for 4 p.m. tipoff against the Hawks in the Helms Center.