Coral Gables, FL.  Damon Collins scored a team-high 12 points and James "J-Byrd" Daniel added 10 but it was not enough to overcome some cold shooting as Howard fell 82-49 to the University of Miami in the season opener at the BankUnited Center.
 
The Bison (0-1) fell behind early, failing to score a field goal until there was almost nine minutes off the clock in the first half.  Despite trailing 17-1 at one point, Howard settled down and reeled off a 7-2 run that cut the deficit to 19-8 at the 10:15 mark.
 
But the Hurricanes answered with an 11-0 run during a three-minute stretch to stretch the lead to 30-8.  The cold shooting proved to be a factor as the Bison missed 26 of their 34 shots en route to 23 percent shooting performance to trail, 45-21 at the half.
 
"We played hard early, but the ball didn't go through the basket and I'm not sure if we ever recovered from our bad scoring start," said Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry.
           
University of Miami (1-0) did not exactly shoot the lights out, but its 48 percent (15 of 31) shooting from the field, including 42 percent from three-point range and 77 percent from the free throw line proved to be more than enough to pull away to the easy win.
           
The Hurricanes remained steady in the second half and a sizzling 91 percent (11 of 12) from the charity stripe averted any comeback attempts by the Bison.
           
Collins, a 6-5 sophomore guard, hit on 4 of 8 from the field , 4 of 4 from the free throw line while also grabbing a team-high 6 rebounds to go along with 3 steals.
           
"I thought it was a game if you looked at the stat sheet, we played hard and competed in all of the effort stats," commented Nickelberry. "But our Achilles heel raised its ugly head again, hitting open shots and making free throws.  We struggled in both of these areas and it is something we will look to correct for the next game."
           
Daniel, who came into the game averaging 21 points per game last season as a freshman, missed 12 of his 15 shots from the field, including 7 of 8 from beyond the arc.  He did pick up 5 steals.
           
James Carlton, a senior transfer forward, who the team has high expectations for, finished with 4 points on 2 of 10 shooting and 5 rebounds.
           
Miami was led by Sheldon McClellan (game-high 19 points), Angel Rodriguez (16 points), Manu Lecomte (14 poits) and Tonye Jekiri (game-high 11 rebounds).
           
The Bison return home for their home opener against Goucher College on Sunday at 6 pm in Burr Gymnasium.