BOWIE, Md. - Redshirt junior David Belle sank a pair of free throws with .4 seconds remaining in the game to lift Bowie State men's basketball to a key 67-65 CIAA home win against the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith on Saturday afternoon. The win snaps a two-game slide and sets the Bulldogs season mark at 6-8 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
 
As a unit, Bowie State finished the contest shooting 38 percent from the field (17-of-45) and 73 percent at the free throw line (30-of-41). The Bulldogs dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Johnson C. Smith by a decisive 48-29 margin. The 48 rebounds were one shy of the teams' season-high. Bowe State set a new season-high for blocked shots, swatting away 10. However, the Bulldogs also turned the ball over a season-high 26 times which translated into 22 Johnson C. Smith points.
 
Sophomore Keith Duffin, Jr. and junior Cameron Hayes paced the Bulldogs with 16 and 13 points respectively on a combined 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Bowie State junior Saiquan Jamison led all rebounders with a 12 to go along with six points and a pair of blocks.
 
"We did a really good job defensively today", said Bowie State Head Coach Darrell Brooks. "I thought we went to sleep at the wheel offensively after being up by 17 with 12 minutes left, combined with costly turnovers and bad shots to let them back in the game. We remained resilient and kept defending to earn the win."
 
Johnson C. Smith (2-7, 0-3 CIAA) was led by Roddric Ross with 16 points and tied for team-high rebound honors with six while Cayse Minor added 10 points, with eight coming in the first half.
 
Johnson C. Smith's Ross scored the first points of the game, but Bowie State used a 9-2 run to gain the Bulldogs' first lead.
 
An Ervin Bennett tip-in at the 10:59 mark of the first half briefly shifted the advantage back over to the visitors of JCSU (17-15), but a Duffin layup with 8:02 to go would give Bowie State the lead (25-23) what would be for good. Bowie State closed the half with a 16-7 run to carry a 41-30 cushion into halftime.
 
The Bulldogs pitched a shutout over the first two minutes of the second half to take its largest of 17 (47-30) and maintained a double-digit lead until the 10:33 mark.
 
The Golden Bulls didn't panic, closing the deficit 63-61 following a Ross layup with 2:08 remaining in the game. JCSU's Justice Goodloe knotted the score of 63-all following a timeout.
 
Bowie State finished the game at the free throw line with junior Juwan Smith knocking down a pair with 31 seconds to go and Belle's game winning free throws.
 
Bowie State will play host to Livingstone College on Monday (January 7) night with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.