Greensboro, NC---The Howard University men's basketball team hopes to have a short memory when it takes on the Aggies of North Carolina A&T on Saturday at 4 pm in the Corbett Sports Center.
Both teams are struggling so a win would be just what the doctor ordered. The Aggies (1-17, 0-5 MEAC) are in the throes of a brutal 17-game losing streak while the Bison (4-14, 1-2 in the MEAC) will have to overcome Monday's stinging loss to Coppin State at home when they squandered an 18-point lead to start the game and then allowing the Eagles to rebound and pull out an 81-72 loss.
Freshman guard Charles "CJ" Williams again set the tone again for Howard, scoring 16 of his team-high 28 points in the first half. But the Bison struggled to find another scorer and it costs them as Coppin State rallied to reduce the deficit to 33-32 at the half and use the momentum to take control in the second half.
Howard was especially hurt as red-shirt junior guard James "JT" Miller, the team's leading scorer, reinjured his hand early and struggled, finishing with only five points, 10 below his average.
With the Coppin State defense paying more attention to Williams and Miller, not his usual explosive self, Howard had no answers to counter the hot-shooting Eagles who shot 52 percent from the three-point line and 52 percent overall.
In North Carolina A&T, the Bison face a team that has had problems on both ends of the floor. They come into the game averaging a little over 60 points a game while allowing almost 73. Most of the team's production comes from guard Sam Hunt, who leads the MEAC in free throw shooting (93 percent) and ranks among the tops in three pointers made per game.
Despite the records of both team, it has always been an intense rivalry. The Aggies won last year's game, 66-63 in Greensboro, NC to take 59-42 advantage in the series.
Game Notes: /documents/2017/1/20//MBBALL_19.pdf?id=514
NEXT UP: The Bison complete the North Carolina swing when they travel over to Durham to take on first place North Carolina Central on Monday at 7:30 pm.
