Playing without two starters, junior Andre Jackson came off the bench to lead Bowie State in scoring with 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds . Senior Zafir Williams contributed 14 points while junior Justin Beck tallied dozen points which included a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Williams was also perfect at the charity stripe, knocking down 5-of-5.
Freshman Ahmaad Wilson and junior Julian Livingstone, made their first starts of the season and scored 11 and eight points respectively. Freshman Dayshawn Wells chipped in a personal season-best 10 points for the Bulldogs.
Virginia Union (4-14, 0-8 CIAA, 0-3 North) had three players score in double figures with Ray Anderson leading all scorers with 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and added six rebounds. Karo Adejekughele was responsible for 12 points for the Panthers and Colton Lewis scored 11 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Bowie State shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the first half, hitting 12-of-28 field goals that included 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) beyond the 3-point line. The Bulldogs made 6-of-7 free throws over the first 20 minutes of action.
Virginia Union made 13-of-34 first half field goals (38.2 percent) but struggled from long range, making 2-of-10 triples and trailed Bowie State 36-29 at the half.
The Bulldogs held their largest lead (39-29) of the game at the 19:27 mark of the second half only to have the Panthers battle back to regain a 43-42 lead via a 14-3 run following a layup by Avery Jirmnson (Harlem, N.Y.) with 15:55 remaining on the clock.
Bowie State answered with a 13-6 run to push the home team to a 55-48 advantage by the 11:16 mark.
The Bulldogs offense went a little cold as the outside temperature, allowing the Panthers to pull even at 60-all with 5:34 remaining in the game. Following the final media timeout of the contest, Bowie State dashed any hopes Virginia Union may have had, outscoring Virginia Union 14-8 to seal the win.
