The Bowie State men's basketball team is ranked No. 1 for the first time ever in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll this week.
"This is big-time for us," said coach Luke D'Alessio yesterday after returning home at 4 a.m. from Elizabeth City (N.C.) State, where his team won, 53-44.
Bowie State (22-3) was a unanimous pick for the top spot, leaping from fourth to first this week after the top three teams in the poll lost.
Meanwhile, Bowie State 6-foot-10 senior center/forward Lee Cook and 5-6 senior guard Allyson Hardy were chosen as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Men's Player of the Year and Women's Player of the Year.
Cook leads the CIAA in scoring (21.0 points) and rebounding (11.7), and Hardy tops the league in scoring (22.0 points) and free-throw shooting (86.4 percent) for the 15-11 Lady Bulldogs.
