Last-Second Layup Gives Bowie State Narrow Win Over Men's Basketball

BOWIE, Md. – The Frostburg State Men's Basketball team came down on the wrong side of a late Bowie State basket in a 68-67 road loss Tuesday night.
 
Both teams were cold from the floor to start, missing the first combined five shots of the game before trading layups. Junior Jaden Baker got the Bobcats started with their first four points, though a Bulldogs triple answered as they led 7-4 at the first media timeout. Over the next four and a half minutes, the only score was senior Koby Baptiste swiping a steal and going the length of the court, then Baker tacked on a three on top of freshman Tony Pope hitting a pull-up jumper for an 11-11 tie.  At the nine-minute mark, graduate Eric Sondberg hit from deep to give Frostburg their first lead, then he and Baker scored either side of a BSU trey to go up 19-16.
 
Senior JayShaun Freeman then added a three of his own to grab the largest lead so far at six points, though Bowie State was able to answer with back-to-back and-ones to quickly get back to 22-22. Entering the final four of the half, the Bulldogs got in the paint to go up two, but Sondberg nailed a triple and Baker had a scoop-and-score to hold a 27-24 advantage. After a pair of BSU free throws, junior Manok Lual was the recipient of a Freeman assist, with Bowie ending the scoring with 26 seconds left on a lay-in for a 29-28 Bobcat lead.
 
The Bulldogs opened up the second with back-to-back buckets, as Lual got FSU going two minutes in, followed by another Sondberg three for a 34-34 score. Pope and Baker took over the offense during a three-minute stretch, combining for Frostburg's next 10 points, culminating with the latter rising from behind the arc to push ahead 44-40. Lual went on to score four in a row, two at the charity stripe and an easy bucket off a Pope assist, with Sondberg also getting to the line to go up 50-43.
 
Bowie State swiftly got a basket and a steal followed by an and-one, cutting the lead to just two, as FSU struggled from the field, going nearly five minutes with just one field goal from Baker. The drought allowed BSU to regain the lead 54-53, but Baker hit back with a trey before the Bulldogs recaptured momentum by getting to the line and grabbing an offensive rebound for another pair and a 59-56 advantage.
 
Baker and Baptiste went a combined 3-for-4 on freebies, but Frostburg wasn't able to get the defensive stops needed to get back in striking distance. After another old-fashioned three-point play gave Bowie a five-point lead, Baker gave FSU a spark with a more modern triple to cut within two. With just over a minute to go, Freeman got a friendly bounce on a pull-up three before Baker drew an offensive foul, then went straight to the cup at the other end, getting a tough left-handed shot to go for a shocking 67-66 lead with 12 seconds left. Coming out of a BSU timeout, Elijah Davis was handed the ball at the top of the key, as he drove down the left side and finished over top the Bobcat defense, which sealed the win after Baker's last-second heave came up short for the 68-67 final.
 
Baker led all scorers with a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds, completing an all-round game with a trio of assists and steals. Sondberg joined him in double figures with 14, as the pair combined for eight three-pointers.
 
With the loss, Frostburg drops to 1-4 on the year, while Bowie State improves to 3-2. FSU returns home on Saturday, November 23 for their MEC opener against Davis & Elkins at 4 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.