Washington, DC--The Howard University men's basketball team will be looking to build on its last performance when it takes on crosstown rival American University tonight at 7:30 pm at Bender Arena.

The Bison (2-7) dropped a heartbreaking 84-79 overtime decision to William and Mary at home on Saturday. In that game, Howard got a career-high 40 points from junior forward Prince Okoroh and 22 from freshman guard James "J-Bird" Daniel.

It was one of the better performances for the young Bison and head coach Kevin Nickelberry remains optimistic despite the loss.

"They are starting to get used to all the challenges that they have had as young players," said Nickelberry of his team that features nine freshmen, three of whom are starters. "That entails everything from studying, travel, long days and game plans and preparation. They are starting to show that they are settling in. We showed improvement in our two games in South Dakota and definitely in the William and Mary game. Hopefully, it will carry over to tonight's game at American."

Okoroh was in a zone against the Tribe, connecting on 15 of 19 from the field and nine of 10 from the free throw line. Daniel, who leads the team in scoring at almost 22 points per game, finished with 22 despite not shooting the ball well from the field. He did manage to convert on 10 of11 from the charity stripe. Okoroh was named the College Sports Madness MEAC Player of the Week and Daniel the MEAC Rookie of the Week.

One of the players who has begun to show improvement that does not show up in the stat sheet is freshman forward Kofi Andoh, who has worked his way into the starting the lineup because of his defensive prowess. He played a key role in the game against William & Mary with his defense on leading scorer Marcus Thornton, who came into the game averaging almost 20 points per game.

"Kofi did an outstanding job on Marcus," said Nickelberry. "When you hold a player like him to 14 points, it is noteworthy. He has bought into being a stopper on defense and giving us energy. He reminds me of a young Prince (Okoroh)."

The Eagles (2-4) are also searching for an identity. After dropping three in a row, they came up with an impressive 75-43 road win over St. Francis of PA on Saturday. American is not very deep and relies on the balanced scoring of its starting five. Jesse Reed (13.5 points per game) and Darius Gardner (12.0 points per game, 5.0 assists) are two of the four starters who average in double figures.

American has won four in a row from the Bison and lead the series, 14-4.