BOWIE, Md. - In the first of two regular-season meetings, Bowie State defeated conference foe Elizabeth City State University on Greek Night by a final score of 69-67. The Bulldogs are 15-9 overall, 7-4 in conference play and 3-1 against division opponents. The Vikings drop to 12-11 overall, 4-6 in CIAA play and 2-3 against teams in its division.
 
Senior Juwan Smith (Lexington Park, Md.) has been pouring it in on the offensive end during the team's three-game homestand, and he continued his tear tonight with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the field off the Bulldogs' bench.
 
"He's been aggressive, and that's what we talked about. "I felt like I was bogging him down and I said 'you know what I just want you to go play and make plays, shoot the ball if you're open and he's been doing exactly that," Head coach Darrell Brooks said.
 
This game went back and forth as the score remained close throughout the entire contest. Things didn't get really interesting until late in the second half. At the 7:47 mark, senior David Belle (Hyattsville, Md.) converted on a layup to put Bowie State up by six, until ECSU's Justin Faison answered back with a three-pointer to cut the lead down to three.
 
Belle would score another layup at the 5:50 mark and make his free throw to complete the and-one, but the Vikings would counter with a slam dunk by Joseph Allen. Seniors Saiquan Jamison (Upper Marlboro, Md.) would score by a tip-in, and Cameron Hayes (Upper Marlboro, Md.) would knock down a jumper, to push Bowie State's lead to eight with four minutes left. With the crowd in a frenzy, Elizabeth State answered with a 3-pointer by Gabe Kirkendoll to make it a five-point game.
 
With 49 seconds left and Bowie State up three points, ECSU's Faison scored on a layup to make it a one-point game as Vikings head coach Shawn Walker quickly called a timeout. Belle would knock down a pair of free throws as the Vikings quickly fouled and relied on last possession to tie the game until Faison was called for a double-dribble violation, which put the game to rest.
 
Besides Smith, Belle also led Bowie State with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Hayes chipped in eight points, and Jamison contributed six points. As a team, Bowie State shot 56 percent (26-of-46) from the field, 66 percent (6-of-9) from long-distance and made 79 percent (11-of-14) of its free throws.
 
Faison led four Elizabeth City State players in double figure scoring with 18 points while Kirkendoll and Joseph Allen tallied 17 and 16 points respectively. Shykeef Daniels rounded the Vikings' double figure scorers with a dozen points.
 
On Monday (2/10), the Bulldogs will begin a three-game conference road trip beginning at Virginia State University. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in VSU's Multipurpose Center.