MURFREESBORO, N.C. –  The Bowie State Bulldogs (11-9, 7-2 CIAA, 1-1 North), winners of seven of the last eight games, picked up a key divisional win on Saturday afternoon, topping the Chowan Hawks 68-57.
 
Redshirt junior David Belle led four Bowie State players in double figure scoring with 20 points followed by juniors Cameron Hayes and Saiquan Jamison with 16 and 12 points respectively.  Belle and Jamison also tied for game-high rebound honors with nine apiece. Sophomore Justin Route scored a career-high 11 points in the victory.
 
Chowan (11-5, 4-4 CIAA, 1-1 North) was led by the duo of Michael Kelly and Gus Rowland with 20 and 15 points respectively. Kelly was the leading rebounder for the Hawks with eight while Rowland was the games assist leader with five to go along with six rebounds and four steals.
 
The Bulldogs shot 38 percent from the field in the first half (14-of-37) and held a 30-29 advantage at halftime. Bowie State did a good job on the glass in the first 20 minutes, holding a 24-18 advantage with half of the Bulldogs' rebounds coming on the offensive end.
 
Chowan led 39-35 at the first media timeout of the second half (14:50) as the Hawks open the half with a 10-5 run.
 
Bowie State's Cameron Hayes drilled a triple out of the media timeout and an old fashion 3-point play by sophomore Justin Route shifted the advantage over to the Bulldogs at 41-39.
 
A 9-1 Bowie State run over 2:29 pushed the Bulldogs lead to 50-43 with 9:33 to go in the game.  The BSU lead grew to 56-46 following a pair of Hayes free throws with 6:20 remaining in the contest and never allowed Chowan any closer than seven (62-55) for the rest of the game.
 
As a team, Bowie State outrebounded Chowan 41-34 and held advantages in points in the paint (40-30) and bench points (27-4). The Bulldogs made 27-of-60 field goals overall (45 percent) and 13-of-20 free throws (65 percent). Bowie State field goal shooting greatly improved in the second half, hitting 13-of-23 (57 percent).
 
The Bowie State Bulldogs will entertain the Virginia State Trojans in its next contest on Wednesday (January 30th) with tip time set for 7:30 p.m.