COLUMBUS, GA - Tournament MVP Tim Washington and teammate Stephen Moss-Kelley combined for 38 points as Bowie State outlasted Presbyterian 67-53 to win the South Atlantic Regional Championship here Monday night. Washington tallied 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Moss-Kelley was a sizzling 7-10 from three-point range to finish with 21 points.
The first half was a tight affair with six ties and six lead changes in the first 15 minutes. Bowie State put together a 12-4 run over the final 5:20 of the half to take a 32-24 halftime lead. Moss-Kelley was 4-6 from three-point range in the half and finished with 12 points, including two treys in the last two minutes which helped push the lead to eight points.
In the second half, Presbyterian would not go quietly. Led by guard Chuck Rayford, the Blue Hose pulled to just three points at the 9:09 mark on a Rod Isom lay-up to make it 50-47. Rayford scored 16 points in the second. But that was as close as they would get. Bowie State rattled off six straight points to push the margin back to 56-47. They would take their largest lead of the game with 1:06 to play on an Omar Smith lay-up to make it 64-51. Cornelius added a meaningless three-pointer at the buzzer to provide the final margin.
Rayford led Presbyterian (27-9) with 25 points on 10-20 shooting. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. In addition to the exploits of Washington and Moss-Kelley, Jon Smith added 11 points for the Bulldogs (29-4).
In addition to Washington’s MVP honor, Moss-Kelley was named to the All-Tournament team. Presbyterian’s Rayford, Reggie McKoy of Kennesaw State, and Kenyon Booker of Shaw were also named to the squad.
Bowie State will now travel to Lakeland, FL, in two weeks to participate in the Division II Elite Eight. The tourney will be held from March 26-29 and will feature the winners of each of the eight Division II regional tournaments. The championship game will be televised on March 29 by CBS.