Bowie High Girls in 4A South Finals Tonight, BHS Boys End Season and Bowie State Teams Out of CIAA

The Bowie State women held a four-point lead over Johnson C. Smith in the final minute of play Friday night in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament. But that lead slipped away, and the Bulldogs saw their season end in a frustrating way.

Johnson C. Smith scored the game’s final nine points in the final 54 seconds to stun Bowie State, 69-64, in the CIAA semifinals at the Time-Warner Arena in Charlotte. The Bulldogs led for much of the game but couldn’t hang on.

Bowie State came into the game as the No. 2 seed from the North, and the Bulldogs finished with an 18-10 record. Johnson C. Smith scored a 61-51 victory over Bowie State when the two met during the regular season.

The final minute hurt the Bulldogs but so did the 28 turnovers that led to 30 Golden Bull points. Also, Bowie State shot poorly from the free throw line. The Bulldogs could have taken more control of the game, but the missed foul shots hurt. 

“This was a disappointing loss,” said Bowie State coach Donna Polk on the team’s website. “We shot 22-for-36 on free throws. That’s your ballgame right there. Missed free throws, and we didn’t take care of the ball very well.”

Bowie State didn’t take care of the lead very well in the final minute. The Bulldogs held a 64-60 lead with 54 seconds left before Terrica Jones made a three-pointer to cut it to one.

But Bowie State turned it over on the next possession, and Terran Quattlebaum’s lay-up gave Johnson C. Smith a 65-64 lead with 33.6 seconds left. The Golden Bulls followed that with another steal, and Quattlebaum added two more free throws with 20 seconds left.

Shakeena Cunnigham locked up the game with two free throws with four seconds to go.

Juliette Turner led the Bulldogs with 16 points, and Chanita Jordan added 13.

The Bowie State men also suffered a tough loss, dropping a surprising 82-66 decision, also to Johnson C. Smith. The quarterfinal loss in the tournament leaves the Bulldogs waiting to see how the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament shakes out.

Johnson C. Smith pulled away in the second half, beating Bowie State (22-5) for the second time in three meetings this season. Eric Vann led Bowie State with 24 points, and Travis Hyman added 13 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs shot just 34 percent from the field.

Rebounding also proved to be a problem as Johnson C. Smith held a big 46-36 edge on the boards. The Golden Bulls scored 47 points in the second half.

In high school basketball, the Bowie High boys dropped a tough overtime decision to C.H. Flowers in the Class 4A South Region semifinals. C.H. Flowers pulled out a 66-63 victory over the Bulldogs in their game late last week.

Four Bowie players scored in double figures, led by Alexander Robinson's 18-point effort. The Bulldogs came into this game after surprising Suitland in the quarterfinals.

Free throws made a big difference in this game as C.H. Flowers went 28-for-40 from the line while Bowie got just 16 free throws (and made 12).

The Bowie girls had little trouble making the Class 4A South Region final. The Bulldogs rolled to a .

That win earned Bowie a spot in Saturday night’s region final on the road against Wise. This will be the Bulldogs’ third meeting with the Pumas this season. Bowie won both—55-40 and 47-39.

Linnel Macklin led Bowie (20-2) with 19 points against Oxon Hill. Bowie pulled away with 43 second-half points. The Bulldogs rolled to easy victories over both and Oxon Hill to earn the trip to the finals.

The Bulldogs take the court tonight at 6 p.m. against Wise, check back in later tonight for scores and game summary.