Bulldogs Are Standing on Shaky Ground

By Clarence Conaway

The Bowie State Bulldogs are having a rocky season for a team that was ranked No. 1 in the pre-season polls. The Bulldogs are at a second-rate 11-11 record, and were victorious in just one of their last three games. These games were against Fayetteville State University, Saint Augustine's College, and Shaw University.  These games were the story of the season, close, but no cigar.

The game against the Broncos of Fayetteville got off to a fast start for the Bulldogs as they led 37-19 at the half. The first half shaped what many thought would be a blowout as the Bulldogs clicked on all cylinders. This included knocking down shots from behind the arc and put back dunks. At the start of the second half, all of the Bulldog fans in A.C. Jordan Arena were ready for the Bulldogs to continue the dominance shown in the first half. However, the Broncos had something else in mind. The game got interesting as the Broncos battled back in the second half cutting the lead to single digits and making each possession important. Despite the Broncos plans to ruin the party in the A.C. Jordan Arena student section, the Bulldogs were able to hold them off and pull out a 67-63 home victory. This effort was lead by Duke Crews who had 19 points and 5 rebounds.

The Fayetteville game was at times a representation of the Bulldogs at their best, but the game against Saint Augustine's would show the Bulldogs in another light. On January 31^st the Bulldogs would square off against the Falcons in Raleigh, NC in the Emery Gymnasium. The Bulldogs never led, and were down by as much as 20 in this contest. At the half the Bulldogs were down 14 with the score being.  Even with the deficit the Bulldogs did not quit.  They continued to fight throughout the game, but in the end the difference proved to be too much to make up as the Bulldogs fell short. The final score was 75-66.

On Saturday night, the Bulldogs took on a surprisingly poor Shaw University team.  Despite controlling the rebounds in the first half, 18-8, they were down 33-24 at the halftime mark.  They did manage to rally a comeback taking the lead with a little under 10 minutes to go in the game.  Their 43-26 rebound advantage was not enough as they dropped 61-65.  The Bulldogs could not hold onto the ball, turning it over nearly 30 times in the game.  This was a big factor if not the biggest that resulted in their loss.

With all the struggles of this season, there is still much to be excited about. The Bulldogs have looked real promising at times this season. With six games left before the CIAA tournament including a television game against Saint Paul's College on the 14^th. Bulldogs can still make a run. Hopefully at the end of the season the Bulldogs will turn out to be the number one team they were projected to be at the beginning of the season.