IOWA CITY, Iowa – Howard University had one of its worst shooting performances in recent history and Iowa made them pay by cruising to a 66-36 win over the Bison in the opening round of the Cancun Classic on Thursday night on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Howard (0-2) came out cold, shooting only 24 percent from the field and falling behind early.

The Hawkeyes (3-0) were able to seize control on the scoring of Roy Devyn Marble, who led all scorers with 22 and Aaron White who chipped in with 16.

Despite the huge halftime deficit, the Bison were able to cut into it the lead with a mini run midway through the second half, but Iowa stifled the run with a spurt of its own to put the game away.

"This is something to build on, even if the score does not indicate it," said Howard Head Coach Kevin Nickelberry.  "With three of our top players out of the game, our guys continued to play hard."

Of more concern than the score of the game is the health of senior and leading scorer, Calvin Thompson.

"My main concern right now is Thompson," said Nickelberry.  "His shoulder popped out in the second half of the game and didn't return.  It would be a big blow to us if it is a serious injury." 

Thompson, who came into the game scoring 21 points in the season opener, finished with six points before going out with the injury.  Senior forward Mike Phillips led the Bison with 11 points and 5 rebounds while sophomore guard Simuel Frazier chipped in with 7 and 4 assists and junior center Alphonso Leary added 7 points and 4 rebounds.

Howard continues play on Saturday in the Classic when they travel to Wichita, KS to to play Wichita State at 3 pm EST.