Norfolk, VA---The Howard University men's basketball team will try to rebound from a heartbreaking loss to Hampton on Saturday when it takes on the Spartans of Norfolk State in less than 48 hours at Echols Hall at 7:30 pm. It is the regular season finale for the Bison.
The Bison (12-18, 6-8 in the MEAC) had what appeared to be a victory in hand against Hampton when James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III scored the go-ahead basket with 10 seconds remaining to give his team the lead at 67-65.
Following a Hampton timeout, the Pirates' Dionte Adams scored and completed a three-point play with four seconds to give Hampton the 68-67 victory and send the Bison to defeat for the 13th straight time against their bitter rivals.
Daniel, in particular, was spectacular in defeat, scoring his team's last 11 points and finishing with a game-high 35 points in his hometown.
There is little time, however, for the Bison to lament over the bitter loss as they face a talented Norfolk State team that defeated the Bison, 99-93 in double overtime on February 10 in Burr Gymnasium.
The team's problems have been compounded by injuries, most recently to starting guard Damon Collins (calf contusion) and reserve guard Jalen Jones (back injury).
"We went into the Hampton game with seven scholarship players and it's possible we could go into this game with only six (Collins)," explained Nickelberry. "To play most of the season with less than 10 scholarship players suited up on your roster is unheard of. But this is an opportunity for players to step in and start to play a lot more minutes. We have this last regular season game and then the tournament."
The balanced Spartans are led by senior guard Jeff Short (16.0 points per game), D'Shon Taylor (13.1 points per game), Charles Oliver (12.5 points per game) and Jordan Butler (7.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg).
Howard will continue to ride the scoring of the talented Daniel (the nation's leading scorer at 28 points per game) and hope that the frontcourt duo of junior forward Tyler Stone and junior center Marcel Boyd will continue their strong inside play.
They have combined to average an impressive 16.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 6.5 blocks in those contests.
"We are beginning to rebound the ball better, play better defense and hit shots," noted Nickelberry. "We just have to push through this."
Click the link for game notes: /documents/2016/2/29//NSU_Notes.pdf?id=421
NEXT UP: The Bison will await the MEAC tournament first round pairings next week. The tournament gets underway, March 7 at the Norfolk Score.
