By David Shawdshaw@salisburypost.com
For the second straight game, Livingstone’s fate was sealed with a miss.
Two days after the Blue Bears dropped a 3-point heartbreaker at Virginia Union, they fell 53-52 to road-weary Bowie State Saturday night at swollen Trent Gym.
“It was close, but being close won’t keep your job,” fifth-year LC coach James Stinson said. “We expect to win and we need to win.”
Livingstone (6-7, 0-3 CIAA) came within inches of gaining its first conference victory. But when Tayloe Taylor’s last-second, 12-foot jumper bounced off the front of the rim, Bowie State (9-6, 6-2) fled the scene with a dramatic, come-from-behind win.
“I got right to where I wanted to be, got my man in the air and tried to get fouled,” said Taylor, who also launched the game’s final shot Thursday night in Richmond. “The refs didn’t call it.”
Defending on the play was BSU guard Corey Stevens, who apparently made a clean stop.
“Yeah, he was off the ground. But he never touched him,” said winning coach Luke D’Alessio. “We’re a defensive team. That’s our trademark right now.”
Livingstone was paced by junior guard Sean Booker, who had no trouble solving Bowie’s defense. He shot 10-for-16 from the floor and scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the first half.
“I just came out and everything was going my way,” the Louisville native said after draining three 3-pointers in the opening period. “Coach told me to shoot the ball with confidence, so I did.”
Booker netted 13 of Livingstone’s first 16 points as the Blue Bears raced to an early lead. It grew to 21-11 when Keith Darden scored on a fastbreak jam with 9:20 remaining in the half.
But the visitors seemed to regroup as the first half waned while Livingstone downshifted its four-on-the-floor offense.
“We had a letdown where we didn’t score for several minutes,” said Stinson. “And they took advantage by getting the ball inside to their bigs.”
Bowie’s bigs include Duke Crews, a 6-foot-8 junior who spent the past two seasons at Division I Tennessee. The former SEC Rookie of the Year stuggled offensively in his sixth game with BSU, but still contributed 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“He’s a big-time recruit,” said D’Alessio. “You always have to know where he is.”
Same goes for 6-10, 265-pound teammate Cassin Diggs, a prominent role-player for Pittsburgh last winter. He used a powerful dribble-drive for a layup that trimmed LC’s lead to one just before halftime.
Livingstone lost its aim in the second half when it shot only 20 percent from the floor. Booker was limited to three layups and Taylor’s only bucket came on a short putback with three minutes to play. Sandwiched around them was a 14-0 Bowie State run that put guests ahead 42-33.
“We kept getting the same looks,” said Taylor. “But our shots weren’t falling.”
That was all part of D’Alessio’s strategy.
“I wanted (Booker) to shoot from long range,” he said. “Shooters who shoot 3’s eventually are going to miss. We just had to make it hard for him.”
Mission accomplished. When Taylor’s final attempt misfired, Livingstone left the court knowing it had gone sneaker-to-sneaker against one of the league’s top teams.
“We were one shot short,” said Booker. “Unfortunately, we missed it. It’s a tough loss, but a respectable loss.”
Bowie State (53) ó Massey 13, Engel 12, Crews 11, Diggs 9, Hill 6, Stevens 2, Johnson, Camphor, Richardson.livingstone (52) ó Booker 24, Page 8, Gunning 8, Taylor 2, Darden 2, Springs 2, Henry 2, Williams 2, Bryant 2, Wilson.
Bowie 28 25 ó 53
Livingstone 31 21 ó 52