Baltimore, MD. - Livingstone men's basketball kicked off its portion of the 2024 Food Lion CIAA Tournament Tuesday evening, taking on Bowie State for the second time this season. The first matchup was a nail-biter that saw the Blue Bears come out on top, however they did not have the same result this time around, as the Bulldogs would come out on top, 69-66. 

The loss ends the 2023-24 campaign for Livingstone, while Bowie State advances to the tournament quarterfinals and will take on Fayetteville State.

The game was a tale of two halves for the Blue Bears, who found themselves in a 12-point deficit heading into halftime. After taking the half to recouperate, Livingstone displayed a much cleaner showing in the second half. The deficit grew as large as 17 points, but a timeout call by head coach James Stinson helped spark a turning of the tide. Out of the timeout, senior Detionne Leach sank a jumper that jumpstarted a 10-point run for Livingstone, a run that he also capped off with another made jumper. 

Junior Khyree Temple began to heat up in a big way in the second half, as he made three consecutive buckets for the Blue Bears that would shrink the deficit down to one, the closest the score had been since the start. The team continued to claw and fight its way into the game, however were unable to take the lead back, as the Bulldogs did just enough to come out victorious. 

Leading the way for the Blue Bears were a medley of players, with senior Teon Tiller tying for game-high 17 points, including an impressive 10-12 from the charity stripe. Junior Khyree Temple and sophomore Omarion Broderick both notched double-doubles, with Temple netting 15 and grabbing 10 rebounds and Broderick sinking 11 points and snagging 13 rebounds. 

The Blue Bears conclude the season at 12-16, having shown a lot of promise. They graduated five seniors but will look to add fresh faces and make a run at the 2024-25 conference title in the next semester. 

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