Bowie State
- Nov 15, 2022
- 6 min read
Bowie State Bulldogs (8-21 in '21-22) vs. Frostburg State Bobcats (8-20 in '21-'22)
Friday, November 11, 2022 @ 7:00 PM
Bowie, MD
A.C. Jordan Arena
Bowie State Tipoff Classic
THE SCHOOL
Bowie State University (pronounced like the knife, not the singer) is a public historically Black university in Bowie, Maryland. Originally located in Baltimore, BSU was founded as the Baltimore Normal School for Colored Teachers in 1865, before moving to their current location in 1911. Bowie State has an enrollment of 6,275 students and an endowment of $33 million.
The Bulldogs compete in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in NCAA Division II. The CIAA is the oldest HBCU conference, having existed since 1912 (though Bowie has only been a member since 1979). BSU is projected to finish 5th out of 12 in the preseason conference standings.
Frostburg State University is a public university in Frostburg, Maryland. The Bobcats compete in the Mountain East Conference, also in Division II. Bowie State and Frostburg State are the only D-II teams in Maryland, but from what I can tell, this is the first time they have ever played. This is for two reasons:
1) Yes, they are in the same state, but Frostburg is far on the opposite side. Frostburg is on the western edge of the state, much closer to Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia than most parts of Maryland.
2) Frostburg State has only been a Division II member since 2019, having been D-III prior to then. That's the biggest reason.
THE TOWN
As you can see, Bowie State is in nearly the exact opposite direction from George Mason. From Capitol Hill, you take US Highway 50 toward the Chesapeake Bay and turn on state Highway 197. On a Veteran's Day afternoon, it took about 45 minutes to reach the arena.
Located on the northern end of Prince George's County, the city of Bowie is roughly equidistant between Washington and Baltimore. Bowie is an old railroad town - it came to existence in the late 19th century when a railroad company decided it was a nice place for a stop and the town formed around that. With a current population of nearly 60,000, Bowie is technically the fifth-largest city in Maryland, though Maryland doesn't count cities like a normal state and many large jurisdictions are officially "census-designated places." To the outsider, Bowie is probably best known for their minor league baseball team, the Bowie Baysox, who are the AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
Bowie State University is a bit outside Bowie city limits. It's a cozy campus that only takes fifteen minutes or so to walk across. There are a couple of centrally located plazas, while all the athletic facilities are on the northern side of the campus. Most of the buildings feel rather old, but there there are some newer ones that integrate well with the rest of campus. There's also a stop for the regional Maryland train on campus - if the game hadn't been as late, I may have taken this to the university.
Like much of the rest of campus, A.C. Jordan Arena feels like it's been there for quite some time. Located inside the Leonidas S. James Physical Education Complex, the arena has two tiers of seating along both sidelines. Up top, there are banners for all the school's conference championships. This includes a large amount - really, it's shocking - of bowling titles. On my side of the court, most of the hanging banners was for their evidently very good bowling team.
THE GAME
This game was part of the Bowie State Tipoff Classic, a four team, two-day showcase hosted at A.C. Jordan Arena. Prior to this game, East Stroudsburg University (from northeast Pennsylvania) defeated Fayetteville State University (from Fayetteville, North Carolina) in a rollicking 86-81 game.
(Can something be called a "Classic" if it's the first time it's ever been held? I suppose so.)
Tickets were $20 for both games. This is slightly high for Division II, but it was for two games and it's part of an early season showcase, so I didn't mind too much. There was free on-campus parking just a short walk from the arena, which is always nice.
Give Bowie State a lot of credit - at this point, I've seen a lot of Division II, Division III, and NAIA games. Of those, this might have been the best crowd I've been a part of. It was a packed house - nearly standing room only - of passionate and knowledgeable fans. Of course there were a lot of Bowie fans, and there were also a good number of Frostburg fans, but interestingly, there were many people who seemed to be there just to see some basketball, like me.
One particular note about the crowd, and I think HBCUs are often particularly good at this, is that it felt like a real family atmosphere. There were older people there, there were young parents with their kids, there were groups of 40-something women, there were groups of 20-something men, etc. Often, a crowd is made up of one or two of these groups, but Bowie State was just about everyone across the spectrum.
This is the second straight game with a great band. Bowie's Symphony of Soul is not as large or varied as George Mason's pep band, but boy, they bring the same amount of energy. Inadvertently, I sat directly below the band (which was loud) so I didn't get to watch them, but did I ever hear them. Notably, halftime entertainment was the band and dancers. They started the moment the first half buzzer started and continued right until the second half whistle. And it's not like they took many breaks during the game, as they played nearly every timeout. I hope this pep band streak continues.
~
Bowie State and Frostburg State both like to run, and it showed early. A smattering of quick baskets led to a 10-8 BSU lead just four minutes in, and it didn't slow down for much of the first half. Frostburg had as much as a four-point lead at the ten minute mark, but Bowie quickly took the lead back.
Bowie's #0, Mark Bradshaw, was the star of the half. He had 14 first half points and was the Bulldogs' entire offense at times. Early in the half, Bradshaw stole the ball, got a transition dunk, played good defense to force a stop, and then drew a foul, all within about one minute. With much of the credit going to Bradshaw, Bowie State led by 8 (39-31) with just 30 seconds left in the half.
But, Frostburg got a layup to cut it to 6 and Bowie took an ill-advised shot with about 6 seconds remaining. Frostburg's #3, Agyei Edwards, blazed down the court to get a shot off with 2 seconds left. It went in and he got fouled. Edwards' free throw was off the mark, but he tapped in his own miss and Frostburg completed a torrid half-minute to go into halftime down by only 2.
Here was the story for the first eight minutes of the second half: Bowie would get out to a 5 or 6 point lead, Frostburg would come back to close the gap or tie, but they just couldn't break through. Over and over, Bowie came up with solid stops and timely shots to keep the lead.
The turning point happened around the 12 minute mark of the second half. Bowie had a 6 point lead and went to the free throw line. #5, Warren Mouganda made the first but missed the second. Frostburg missed a block out, BSU's Anthony Carpenter (#2) got the rebound, and quickly passed it beyond the arc to Myles Anderson (#4) who made the dagger three. Frostburg missed a quick shot on the other end and Bowie's Kyree Freeman-Davis (#3) converted a transition layup.
A 6-point lead ballooned to 12 in a matter of seconds. Bowie State never looked back.
The Bulldogs maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game, eventually leading by 20 with 4:32 left. Mark Bradshaw ended the day with 19 points while Kyree Freeman-Davis had 16. FSU's Agyei Edwards had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort.
Final: Bowie State 94, Frostburg State 79
My dinner on this night was a concession stand cheeseburger (I'd say it was slightly better-than-average for what it was). Bowie State had a wider selection of concession options than other D-II schools, including one thing I'd never seen before.
Have you ever seen a concession stand have salad?
Right there on their list of items it said "chef salad." I didn't order it and I didn't see anyone else get it either, but I thought that was fascinating. I don't know if I want to rely on a fork-dependent food at a sporting event, but maybe that's small-minded of me. Maybe other concession stands have had salad and I just haven't noticed, but I think this is totally new for me. They also had vegan burgers.
Comments