BOWIE, Md. – Bowie State men's basketball team will begin their 2022-23 regular season this weekend hosting the Bowie State Classic this Friday-Saturday, Nov. 11-12 inside A.C. Jordan Arena. The three other teams participating in the Classic are Fayetteville State, Frostburg State and East Stroudsburg. Games times for Friday, Nov. 11 are 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. start on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Click HERE for the Tip-Off Classic schedule and team information.
 
Last Season for Bowie State:
Under the guidance of head coach Darrell Brooks, the Bowie State Bulldogs finished the 2021-22 campaign with an 8-21 overall record and 5-11 CIAA record. They finished last amongst the CIAA Northern Division with a 3-7 mark. The Bulldogs were .500 at home (5-5) but 2-13 on the road last season.
 
BSU averaged 67.3 points per game while giving up 74.5 points per game. Their opponents shot 46-percent from the field (36-percent from behind the arc and 70-percent from the charity stripe) compared to the Bulldogs 42-percent that featured 31-percent from the 3-point line and 72-percent from the free throw line. Bowie State's defense forced its opponents into turning the ball over 11.8 times per game and averaging 13.6 points off of turnovers.
 
CIAA Order of Predications for 2022-23 Season:
Bowie State was picked to finish fifth overall and third in the CIAA Northern Division announced by the league office on Sept. 26. Bowie State returns five players from last season including junior Anthony Carpenter who was named to the CIAA All-Tournament Team after averaging 16 points during the tourney run. The Reisterstown, Md., native had a second-best for the Bulldogs with a .462 three-point shooting percentage including 30 of his 50 shots made coming from behind the arc.
 
Fayetteville State received six first place votes to repeat as conference champions while Virginia Union, Winston-Salem State and Virginia State were picked second, third and fourth, respectively.
 
The Newcomers:
The Bulldogs welcome 10 new faces to the roster for 2022-23. The newcomers include four true freshman, four transfers two redshirt freshman who will take the court this season.
 
The Returners:
Of the 15 players on the Bulldogs roster for 2022-23, five are returners from last season. Alongside Carpenter, senior Quinton Drayton is a key returner for the Bulldogs who averaged 10.7 points per game (300 points) – the Bowie, Md., native led the team in 3-point field goals (30-percent) and ranked second amongst the team in free throws (77-percent), field goals (39-percent) and third in rebounds (3.3).
 
Fayetteville State:
The Broncos went 22-9 overall and were 13-3 in CIAA action on their way to the winning its first CIAA championship since 1973 during the 2021-22 season. FSU was the eighth seed in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Atlantic Region Championship Tournament, its first appearance since 1993 under the leadership of Luke D'Alessio.
 
FSU was projected to repeat as conference champions announced by the league office back in Sept. From last year's squad, Cress Worthy was named to the CIAA All-Preseason Team, he was the second leading scorer for FSU and ranked sixth in the CIAA with 14.5 points per game, third with 54 three-pointers made, and fifth in the conference at assists (81). 
 
Frostburg State:
The other FSU team in the Bobcats of Frostburg State were 8-20 overall and 6-16 against Mountain East Conference (MEC) opponents last season. The Bobcats were selected to finish 11^th in the preseason MEC poll as eight players return from last season's squad including leading scorer and All-MEC Honorable Mention in Agyei Edwards. Edwards led the Bobcats in scoring with 16 points per game, while also leading the team in free throws made (83), assists (71) and total rebounds (139). 
 
FSU has 11 newcomers under head coach Sean Brown, Sr.
 
East Stroudsburg:
A member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), the East Stroudsburg men's basketball team finished 19-8, 17-5 conference record a season ago under the leadership of Jeff Wilson. The Warriors return four starters and 15 of its 18 members from the 2021-22 squad that earned a Co-PSAC East Regular Season Championship with Millersville.
 
East Stroudsburg was selected as the favorite to win the PSAC East. In addition to the four starters coming back for ESU, PSAC East Athlete of the Year Carlos Pepin (14.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 56.3 FG%, 1.9 spg) and All-PSAC East Second Team selection Lakeem McAliley (14.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) return, along with guard Justin Paz (11.8 ppg, 40.7% 3-PT, 4.0 apg) and Marc Rodriguez (11.4 ppg).

For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State University Athletics and its 13 varsity sports teams, please visit www.bsubulldogs.com.