Box Score
BOWIE, MD – Senior guard Aaron Caruthers totaled 27 points and junior guard Jarred Stockton notched a double-double Saturday as the Livingstone men's basketball team stayed undefeated in CIAA play by downing the Bowie State Bulldogs 72-62.
With the victory the Blue Bears improved to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the CIAA while Bowie State fell to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
Caruthers totaled 27 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 shooting from the free throw line. Stockton scored 18 points and also pulled down 14 rebounds in the victory.
Bowie State got out to the early lead as they went up 10-3 in the first few minutes. Also in the first ten minutes of the game Livingstone's two big men, Keith Darden and Virgil Taylor got into foul trouble which could've easily played into the hands of the Bulldogs. Bowie was unable to take advantage of the size difference, shooting only 29 percent from the floor and 33 percent from the free-throw line.
Caruthers provided a much-needed spark to the Livingstone offense as he scored 11 points in the first half on 5-of-9 shooting and also pulled down three offensive rebounds. The Blue Bears got to the charity stripe only twice in the first half, missing both attempts. Livingstone trailed by two at the half, 24-22.
Bowie State picked up the first four points of the second half to increase their lead to six at 28-22. Livingstone battled back and took their first lead of the game with 15 minutes left on a Darden three pointer. Over the first 10 minutes of the second half there were a total of 15 fouls called and the teams started trading points from the free-throw line and Bowie State regained a three-point edge at 44-41.
Caruthers put the Blue Bears back on top 45-44 from the charity stripe and Jarred Stockton connected on a big three pointer with 7:45 left to put Livingstone up four at 50-46. As the clock ticked under four minutes to go the Blue Bears held a five-point edge before Stockton knocked down another long-range shot to put Livingstone up by eight at 58-50. A Bowie State timeout produced a quick two points for the Bulldogs, but the Blue Bears quickly bumped their lead back to up to double digits and led by 11 with just over two minutes to play.
A comfortable 13-point lead with 90 seconds to play in the game turned into a much closer seven-point edge with less than a minute in the game after the Blue Bears didn't covert some free throw opportunities and turned the ball over late. Despite the late troubles for Livingstone the Blue Bears were able to stave off the Bulldog comeback and take the game 72-62.
As a team, the Blue Bears shot 40.7 percent from the field while Bowie State shot 38.3 percent. Bowie State pulled down 47 rebounds while Livingstone grabbed 40. The Blue Bears struggled from the free throw line, hitting on only 56 percent of their free throw attempts.
The Blue Bears will be back in action on Monday at 7:30 p.m. when they face the Lincoln University Lions on the road.
