TOWSON, Md. – The Norfolk State bowling team won two of its three matches on Sunday to complete the three-day James Brown Invitational hosted by Morgan State at the AMF Lanes Towson.
The Spartans ended the tournament strong, winning twice on Saturday and then two more times on Sunday to close things out. They finished 4-9 overall and 12
th out of 15 teams at the tournament.
NSU lost all five of its Baker matches on Friday but had a stronger showing on Saturday in traditional play. It started off with a win over Mount Aloysius, 839-775. After a narrow loss to Bowie State, 809-795, the Spartans got a pair of individual 200 games in an 865-834 win over Virginia State.
Despite a 200 game in each of the next two matches, NSU fell 909-833 to No. 13 Sacred Heart and 887-847 to No. 10 Duquesne.
In the triumph over VSU, sophomore
Trinity Gray tallied a career-high 228, and freshman
Megan Wheat posted the best score of her season at 216. Wheat finished with a 172.8 average in five games, and Gray was just behind her at 172.0.
Freshman
Chanel Staton also had the best game of her season at 219 in the loss to Sacred Heart, part of a 183.6 average in five games. Sophomore
Crystal Brewer had the sixth-highest average at the tournament at 194.6, including individual games of 203 and a career-high 231 in the final match.
On Sunday in the bracket round, NSU got a measure of revenge over Bowie State, topping the Bulldogs by a 4-1 margin in the best-of-seven Baker format. The Spartans also came away with a 4-2 win over Morgan State in the next round, winning the last three games. They then suffered a 4-1 loss to Coppin State to close out the tournament.
On Friday, the Spartans lost all five Baker games. The first three came against Felician (780-644), Coppin State (850-755) and Chestnut Hill (958-777). NSU came up just short against No. 24 Wilmington, 857-808, and then Kutztown had an easy time in the last game, 940-782.
NSU will compete next weekend in the second MEAC meet of the regular season, down in Pensacola, Florida. The Spartans will be looking to move up in the conference standings and secure a spot in the MEAC tournament next month.
