Box Score Houston, TX--
James Daniel poured in a game-high 25 points and
Prince Okoroh and
Damon Collins added 11 and 10, respectively, but it was not enough to offset the balanced offense of Houston which placed four players in double figures as Howard fell 75-62 to the Cougars in the Progressive Legends Classic at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Bison (2-4), who started three freshmen, got off to their best start of the season as they took a 10-point lead at the 13:51 mark on the host. But Houston went on a big run and took a 34-30 lead to the locker room.
We took a step forward tonight against another talented, undefeated team," said Howard head coach
Kevin Nickelberry.
Daniel, who came into the game, averaging 21 points per game, had another fine outing, shooting almost 50 percent from three-point range while adding five rebounds and a career-best four assists in 37 minutes of play.
Okoroh tallied 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and picked up five steals while Collins, in his first start, scored a career-high 10 points.
Solomon Mangham, a freshman forward contributed eight points and
Marcel Boyd, still another freshman, chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
"We had some other guys join Daniels in the scoring column," Nickelberry said. "I thought that we did a great job following the scouting report."
Houston (5-0) got 23 points from Danual House, 16 from Jherrod Stiggers, 10 from LJ Rose and a huge effort from TaShawm Thomas who finished with 11 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
For the first time in the past four games. The Bison were not dominated in the statistical column. The only significant edge that Houston held was in the free throw area.
"They got to the free throw line a lot and that was probably the difference in the game," said Nickelberry. The Cougars went to the charity stripe 28 times while Howard attempted 17.
