SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Senior
Saiquan Jamison (Upper Marlboro, Md.) recorded a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds but it wasn't enough as Bowie State drops an 85-79 decision at Shepherd on Saturday evening. The setback puts the Bowie State record at 1-1 while Shepherd evens its record at 1-1 overall.
Three other Bowie State players scored in double figures with seniors
Cameron Hayes (Upper Marlboro, Md.),
Juwan Smith (Lexington Park, Md.) and
Yohance Fleming (Bowie, Md.) adding 15, 12 and 11 points respectively.
The Bulldogs shot 57 percent from the field in the second half (16-of-28) and finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field (27-of-53). Bowie State won the battle on the glass, outrebounding the Rams 38-31 and held advantages in points in the paint (26-12) and bench points (27-11).
As a team, Shepherd made 25-of-62 field goals (25-of-62) in the game, which included 12-of-32 behind the 3-point line and converted 23-of-27 free throws (85 percent). Thomas Lang torched the Butcher Center twine for 42 points to lead the Rams to victory. Lang made 10-of-23 field goals which included 7-of-14 beyond the arc, knocked down all 15 of his free throws and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Bowie State held a 9-8 lead at the first media timeout, but Shepherd's Lang drilled a 3-pointer out of the timeout to give the Rams its first lead at 12-9.
BSU freshman
Khalil Williams (Annapolis, Md.) popped a triple of his own to shift the advantage back over to Bowie State at 15-14 at the 12:27 mark of the first half.
Shepherd trimmed the Bowie State lead to 23-22 but back-to-back layups by sophomore
Elijah Epps (Baltimore, Md.) and Jamison gave the BSU Bulldogs a 27-22 lead and carried a 36-30 lead into halftime.
Shepherd made 10-of-28 first half field goals (36 percent) compared to 11-of-25 for Bowie State (44 percent). Free throws were key for the Bulldogs in the first 20 minutes as Bowie State knocked down 12-of-16 (86 percent) compared to just 6-of-7 (75 percent for Shepherd's Rams.
Shepherd opened the second half with a 5-0 run before a Hayes layup stopped the run. A pair of Lang free throws knotted the score at 39-all but a 3-pointer by Bowie State's Fleming put the Bulldogs back on top 42-39. However, Shepherd's Jon Preston created a tie at 42-all, and Lang followed with a triple to give the Rams a 45-42 lead at the 16:16 mark.
A Fleming layup followed by back-to-back layups by
Juwan Smith shifted the advantage back over to Bowie State at 50-45. Bowie State held a seven-point advantage (55-48) before Shepherd made a run to take a 58-57 lead with just over nine minutes left in the game.
Bowie State junior
Kani Coles (Baltimore, Md.) shifted the lead back to Bowie State at 59-58 but a pair of Lang free throws tied the game at 66-all with 4 minutes left in regulation.
The lead would change hands two times before the Shepherd Rams use a 10-2 run to break a 67-all tie and take a 77-69 lead they would not relinquish.
Bowie State was able to pull within three at 82-79 but Shepherd made its free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.
Bowie State returns to non-conference action on Wednesday (November 13) traveling to Shippensburg (Pa.) University for a 7 p.m. game against the Raiders.
