BOWIE, Md. – Making its first home appearance of the season, the Bowie State University Bulldogs secured a 66-53 non-conference win against the Gannon University Golden Knights on Saturday afternoon in the A.C. Jordan Arena.  PHOTOS (Courtesy of Lawrence Johnson)
 
Senior Cameron Hayes (Upper Marlboro, Md.) came off the bench to pace the Bowie State (2-2) with a season-high 21 points while fellow senior David Belle (Hyattsville, Md.) added 12 points. Senior Yohance Fleming (Bowie, Md.) along with junior Kani Coles (Baltimore, Md.) tied for team-high rebounds with four apiece.
 
Bowie State pulled down a season-low 23 total rebounds, the teams lowest rebound total since grabbing 24 versus Virginia State – January 27, 2018. In other Bulldogs statistics, Bowie State shot 43 percent from the field (17-of-40) with 6-of-15 (40 percent) coming beyond the 3-point line. The Bulldogs converted 26-of-36 free throws (72 percent) in the win.
 
The Gannon duo of Chris Clancy and DeAnte Cisero recorded 14 points each on a combined 10-of-18 shooting from the field while Michael Tertsea and Kevin Dodds grabbed a game-high eight rebounds for the Golden Knights.
 
Gannon (0-1) held a 36-23 advantage on the glass and made just 19-of-49 field goals (39 percent) in its season debut but made all eight of their free throws in the loss.
 
Gannon led by as much as 13 points (24-11) at the 4:30 mark of the opening half. Fortunately, BSU's Bulldogs closed the first 20 minutes of action with a 13-2 burst to close the deficit to 27-24 going into the break.
 
The Bulldogs began the second half with a 10-0 run to take the lead at 34-27 with 16:09 to go in the game. Bowie State's defense continued to deny Gannon opportunities and strengthened its lead to a game-high 14 points (51-37) with 7:26 remaining on the clock.
 
The Golden Knights were able to narrow the gap to six (59-53) but the Bulldogs paraded to the free throw line down the stretch to claim the victory.
 
Bowie State will break until opening conference play with road dates at Winston-Salem State (November 23) and Livingstone (November 25).