Princess Anne, MD---- The bruised and battered Howard University men's basketball team received yet another crushing blow when it found out that there are more injuries. The Bison (3-13, 0-1 in the MEAC)who are currently in the throes of a five-game skid, will be looking to snap the streak when it takes on the Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore at 4 pm on Saturday at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.
Just when Howard appeared to have returned to good health and ready for the stretch run of the conference race, the injury bug has again reared its ugly head. When the scoring duo of James "J-Byrd" Daniel, III and James "JT" Miller returned to the lineup two games ago against Florida A&M, there was much excitement that the team was finally getting some much-needed good fortune following an injury-plagued early season that featured four of the five starters missing games at various time.
Although the much-publicized return of the dynamic duo did not result in a victory for the Bison, there was much encouragement over the performance of Daniel and Miller, who combined for 40 points.
But that enthusiasm was quickly dampened in the next game at Columbia when Daniel came up hobbling and struggled. The 5-11 senior guard aggravated the injured ankle that he hurt in the preseason and will now have to sit at least two weeks.
And if that is not enough, junior guard Dalique Mingo, fractured an ankle and is out indefinitely, leaving the Bison with only eight scholarship players in uniform.
In UMES (3-14, 1-1 in the MEAC), Howard faces a long-time rival. The Hawks come into the game following a loss at North Carolina Central that snapped a two-game winning streak. The Hawks rely heavily on the outside shooting of Bakari Copeland and Ryan Andino, who combine for 30 points per game and both shoot over 43 percent from beyond the arc, an area where the Bison have struggled in the past two weeks.
The loss of Daniel especially hurts Howard in the scoring area where it has struggled the past four games during the skid. Twice Howard has scored under 50 points and once right at 51.
Mingo had proved to be a valuable asset for the Bison because he was able to serve as a point guard and provided a lot of hustle play.
The Bison will now have to turn to Miller, Solomon "Solo" Mangham and CJ Williams for scoring. They all average double figures.
Game Notes: /documents/2017/1/14//MBBALL_17.pdf?id=507
NEXT UP: The Bison return home for an MEAC tilt against Coppin State on Martin Luther King, Jr for a 4 pm contest.
