Box Score Washington, DC--James "J-Bird" Daniel poured in a career-high 33 points and Prince Okoroh added 19 points to lead Howard University to an easy 88-55 victory over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at Burr Gymnasium.

The 5-11 freshman connected on 9 of 18 from the floor, including 6 of 12 from three-point range. Daniel scored 21 of his points in the first half as the Bison led, 52-24 at intermission.

"My teammates did a great job of finding me in some good spots," said Daniel, a native of Hampton, VA. "I got some good looks and the shots were falling." Daniel's previous high was 28 in the season opener against Washington College.

Howard (4-15, 2-2 in the MEAC) shot 54 percent from the floor, converted 9 turnovers into 16 points and limited the Hawks (2-14, 0-4) to 28 percent shooting (7 of 25) from the field in the first stanza. Okoroh chipped in with 11 points.

"We felt that after the last game (a 56-54 home loss to Savannah State on Monday), we needed to atone ourselves," said Howard Coach Kevin Nickelberry. "We wanted to address the issue of our free throw shooting, to play with a lot of energy on our press and to shoot the three. We were able to accomplish all of that. J-Bird is an outstanding young talent as you saw today."

With the comfortable lead, the Bison, despite their youth, never let up in the second half. Daniel continued to score as did Okoroh, but others chipped in as well. Tyler Stone, a freshman forward in his first start, came up with a career-high 10 points and seven rebounds. James "JT" Miller, yet another freshman, came off the bench to add 12 points.

The 88 points was a season high for Howard, which rebounded nicely at the free throw line, connecting on 27 of 33 for 82 percent. They also held a 37-28 advantage on the boards while hitting on 53 percent from beyond the arc.

"We were able to accomplish the things that we set out to do," said Nickelberry. "It is good to have J-Bird back healthy and while JT is not 100 percent yet, he is slowly coming around. Marcel Boyd and Tyler Stone did a good job of rebounding. And what can I say about Prince. He continues to show great leadership for this young team."

The Hawks were led by KyRee Jones with 13 points and Ishaq Pitt and Mark Blackmon, who each contributed 8 off the bench.

NEXT UP: UMES travels to Daytona Beach, FL to take on Bethune Cookman on Saturday while the Bison will face the Rattlers of Florida A&M in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday at 4 pm