Earl Jackson received the Excellence in Leadership Award from the U.S. Marines for his team and career high 20 points performance, along with seven rebounds in an 82-66 win over Bowie State in the CIAA Quarterfinals
CIAA Quarterfinal Box vs. Bowie State
Charlotte, NC - Johnson C. Smith exploded in the second half to break open a tight game for an 82-66 victory over Bowie State Thursday in the CIAA Tournament quarterfinal nightcap at Time Warner Cable Arena.
The Golden Bulls (17-10 overall), the No. 4 Southern Division seed, will face No. 2 Southern Division seed Shaw in Friday's semifinal at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs (22-5), the Northern Division top seed, will await the NCAA Atlantic Region pairings to see if they receive a bid. They are ranked second in the Atlantic Region. The loss means that the top three seeds in the CIAA tournament have been eliminated.
The reserves keyed the Golden Bulls to victory. Senior forward
Earl Jackson (Temple Hills, MD) and freshman forward
Antwan Wilkerson (Greensboro, NC) scored 20 points and 10 points, respectively, off the bench to go along with 17 points from senior guard
Ronald Thornhill (Alberta, VA) and 15 points from CIAA player of the year and sophomore guard
Trevin Parks (Hickory, NC) for the Golden Bulls, who outscored the Bulldogs 37-5 in bench points.
Eric Vann of the Bulldogs led all scorers with 24 points and Darren Clark added 15 points. Travis Hyman had 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks before fouling out for Bowie State.
“The key was getting the bench to score for us and getting Hyman in foul trouble,” JCSU Head Coach #Stephen Joyner, Sr#. said.
Holding a 42-39 lead in the second half, the Golden Bulls went on a 22-6 run for a 64-45 lead with 7:14 left in the game. All but two points happened during the run after Hyman, the Bulldogs' 7-foot patroller in the lane, got his fourth foul which forced him to leave the contest for a spell.
The Golden Bulls' lead was 44-39 when Wilkerson drew the fourth foul on Hyman. Wilkerson hit both free throws and followed with a dunk off a turnover. Freshman guard
Thaddeus Williams (Salisbury, NC) made a nifty move in the lane for a layup, giving the Golden Bulls their first-double digit lead at 50-39, forcing a Bulldogs' timeout.
The timeout failed to slow down the Golden Bulls, who were gaining momentum. Parks scored on another layup and Wilkerson hit a free throw to cap an 11-0 run for a 53-39 lead. Parks scored again to make it a comfortable 19-point lead for the Golden Bulls with little time left for the Bulldogs to make a serious run.
“Bowie State was trying to stun us with their size and quickness,” Joyner, Sr. said. “In the second half, we figured out how to control the tempo of the game.”
In the first half, consecutive follow shots by Jackson and freshman forward
Robert Williams (Atlanta, GA) gave the Golden Bulls a 14-10 lead early. The lead stayed at four when Hyman got his second foul but he stayed in the contest. Despite the early fouls, Hyman's made his presence known. He smashed home two dunks and threw two shots out of bounds in the early minutes.
Hyman failed to faze the Golden Bulls, however, as they maintained a four-to-six point lead much of the opening half. Turnovers started to catch up with the Golden Bulls as the Bulldogs went on a 9-3 run on Vann's bucket to tie the score at 28.
Right before the half, Hyman collected his third foul which sent him to the bench. Jackson, a 6-6 inside player, immediately capitalized, hitting two free throws and a three-pointer to give the Golden Bulls a 33-28 lead. Vann came right back and swished a three from the corner to pull the Bulldogs within two points, but Williams scored on a layup off Bulldog turnover for a 35-31 halftime lead for the Golden Bulls.
Jackson scored 13 first-half points on 4-for-7 shooting and 4-for-4 free for the Golden Bulls, who outscored the Bulldogs' reserves 21-0. Clark scored 12 points and Vann added 11 for the Bulldogs, who hung around by making 10 of 15 free throws.
The Golden Bulls were 2-1 against the Bulldogs this season. On Nov. 26, 2010, the Bulldogs won 95-81 in the Fresh Coast Classic in Milwaukee, Wisc. The Golden Bulls returned the favor on Jan. 20 with an 80-75 victory on their home floor to give the Bulldogs one of their two conference losses.
