BOWIE, Md. - The Bulldogs of Bowie State University picked up a non-conference victory on Monday by defeating Livingstone College by a score of 80-76. The win sets Bowie State's record at 7-6.   PHOTOS (Courtesy of Lawrence Johnson)
 
"This game was very, very similar to the game down there", said Bowie State Head Coach Darrell Brooks. "They are very disruptive as a team defensively and they get you to hurry up and we didn't handle that very well for six or seven minutes, but I thought I guys toughed it out and figured it out."
 
The Bulldogs enjoyed the lead throughout the first half, as they carried a 42-29 lead into intermission, thanks to the Bowie State sound defense. At the half, Bowie State held Livingstone to 39 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from long-distance. They also scored 16 points off the Blue Bears' 13 turnovers.
 
When it came to points in the paint, Livingstone held a slight advantage 20-18, second-chance points 12-11, and rebounding 19-18. However, the Bulldogs had the upper hand in getting productive scoring from its bench 24-17.
 
In the second, Bowie State continued to carry its strong lead until the 16-minute mark, when the Blue Bears cut the lead to 10. And then at the 11-minute mark, it was cut down to four, after Roger Ray knocked down a three-pointer-- along with Cameron Carpenter's converted layup. All gained from a Bowie State turnover.
 
Thereafter, the game went close to the wire, until Bowie State put Livingstone away slowly with layups and clutch foul shooting. Seniors Cameron Haynes and Saiquan Jamison, both of Upper Marlboro, Md., led three Bulldogs in double-figure scoring with 12 points each while junior Justin Route (Washington, D.C.) and freshman Anthony Carpenter (Reisterstown, Md.) were responsible for eight points each.
 
For Livingstone (7-4), Lydell Elmore led a trio of Blue Bears in double figures with 14 points, while Ray and Martel Handley chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. Malik Smith contributed nine points and Anthony Tate added seven for the Blue Bears.
 
For the game, Bowie State shot 45 percent from the field (25-of-56), 28 percent from behind the arc (4-of-14) and knocked down 81 percent of its free throws (26-of-32). Livingstone shot 44 percent from the field (25-of-57), 20 percent from long-distance (2-of-10) and converted on 64 percent of its free throws (21-of-33).
 
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, December 21st hosting Fayetteville State University at 4 p.m. in the A.C. Jordan Arena.