DURHAM, NC --- James "J-Byrd" Daniel III scored a game-high 27 points, including the game winner with one second remaining to give Howard a dramatic 71-69 win over North Carolina Central in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at McDougald-McLendon Arena. The win by the Bison (6-3, 1-1 in the MEAC) snapped a 38-game home win streak by the Eagles, the second longest streak in the nation.
Daniel, the nation's leading scorer at 28 points per game, tallied 15 of his points - all on three-point baskets - in the first 20 minutes. But the Bison still trailed, 41-34 at the half.
NCCU (3-5, 1-1 in the MEAC) seemingly took control in the second half behind the scoring of Jeremiah Ingram, who scored 14 of his 18 in the second stanza.
With the Eagle defense focusing its efforts on stopping the explosive Daniel,
Damon Collins went to work, scoring 17 of his career-high 24 points to keep the Bison close.
"I had a talk with Damon following the NC A&T game and I told him he was not being aggressive enough," explained Howard head coach
Kevin Nickelberry. "I told him that with JT (
James Miller) out, he needs to look for his shots more. He responded."
It was an unlikely player in
Tyler Stone who emerged and hit a three pointer from straightaway to tie the score at 69 with 57 seconds remaining.
"That was a huge shot by Tyler," noted Nickelberry. "We needed him to step by and he did. He shot it with confidence."
Both teams took turns turning the ball over until the Bison gained possession with seven seconds remaining.
Daniel got the ball on the left side of the floor, drove the lane and put up a floater from five feet that hit the rim, bounced high above the basket and fell through as the clock hit one second.
"There was never any doubt who was going to take that last shot," said Nickelberry. "When he gets the ball in those situations, the bench expects him (Daniel) to make the shot. He has been in this same situation in four games recently and has twice delivered."
NCCU was able to get off a shot but it fell short as the Bison escaped with the win and ended the streak.
The Eagles were led by Dujuan Graf with 19 and Ingram with 18.
Nickelberry cited it as a team effort and singled out point guard
Keon Hill and center
Marcel Boyd as major contributors to the win. Hill logged 18 minutes and scored only two points but recorded three assists and allowed more freedom for Daniel.
Boyd was shackled with foul trouble but down the stretch, he was a huge factor defensively, grabbing rebounds and forcing or altering NCCU shots.
"Our bench did a great job for us," said Nickelberry. "Keon came in at the point and we were able to spread them out a little and free up J-Byrd."
He continued. "Marcel was a big factor for us. He protects the rim and that was one of the keys to run down the stretch."
NEXT UPThe Bison head to the Midwest to take on No. 11 Purdue on Wednesday, December 9 at 7 p.m.
