Ithaca, NY—James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III poured in a team-high 23 points, 17 in the second half and James "JC" Carlton added 22, but it was not enough to offset the play of Shonn Miller and Robert Hatter along with some deft free throw shooting as Howard fell, 70-60 to Cornell in a non-conference game Newman Arena.
           
The Bison (7-9) got off to a fine start and led by as many as seven on three occasions in the first 20 minutes.  Carlton paced Howard with 13 points in the first 20 minutes, scoring on a variety of dunks and three pointers.  But the Cornell (7-8) made a late push at the end of the half to force a 27-27 tied at intermission on a Pat Smith three pointer with seconds left on the clock.
           
"We played well in the first half for the most part," said Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry.  "James Miller got in foul trouble and it hurt us because it kept us from extending the lead in the first half."
           
Big Red used the push to come out of the locker room with a 14-5 run that gave them a 41-32 lead at the 14-minute mark.  That is when Daniel went to work, scoring all nine of his team points to reduce the deficit to four.
           
But Miller and Robert Hatter responded and kept the pressure on Howard.  Miller, who tied with game-high scoring honors with 23 points while also grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and blocking four shots.  Hatter hit several key baskets en route to 19 points, coming at intermission.
           
"Their best player shot as many free throws as we shot as a team," said Nickelberry.
           
The Bison refused to go away as Daniel and Carlton answered with baskets.  But it all came down to free throw shooting where Cornell converted on 26 of 28 for a sizzling 93 percent.  The Big Red came into the game shooting 72 percent as a team.  Miller connected on 15 of 16 and Hatter a perfect 6 for 6.
           
"Unfortunately, the foul issues got worse for in the second half," noted Nickelberry. "The foul shooting disparity proved to be the difference in the game. Cornell had some veteran players who made plays when they needed to, especially getting to the foul line."   
           
Howard shot a respectable 72 percent (13 of 18) from the charity stripe but did not get there enough.
James "JT" Miller added 11 points for Howard whose bench was outscored by their counterparts, 12-4.
           
The Bison will look to snap the two-game skid when they host Coppin State on Saturday at 4 pm.
           
"This game will be a good learning lesson for us going into league play," he said. "Basketball is a game of runs and we were on the wrong side of the runs tonight.  We will learn from this and fight our way through it."