Washington, DC---The Howard University is coming off back-to-back wins and appears ready to make a run at readying itself for the upcoming Mid-Eastern Athletic conference tournament, March 7-12 in Norfolk, Va.
The Bison (7-20, 4-8 in the MEAC) have had as many injuries a anyone in the country and it has resulted in lack of consistency. Much of the problems can be attributed to the point guard position where Howard has had four different players play the important position.
But they may have found a stabilizer in senior Damon Collins. Normally a wing guard/small forward. Collins was moved to the position midway through the seasons after injuries decimated the team. It was a struggle at first, but of late, things are starting to slow down for the 6-5 senior from Dallas, TX.
In the two victories over Morgan State and NC A&T, Collins averaged 16 points, but what was important was his playmaking. He recorded 10 assists in the victories and it allowed the Bison to have two of their more productive scoring outings in weeks.
"Things are beginning to slow down for Damon," said Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "Now that we have had practices and games playing together at that position, he has settled in and understands what we are trying to do."
Collins and the Bison will need that same kind of effort when they take on the Eagles of North Carolina Central on Monday at 4 pm in Burr Gymnasium. NCCU (20-6, 11-1 in the MEAC) come into the game, boasting an 11-game win streak and it is in first place in the standings.
The two met on January 23 and NCCU dominated, holding Howard to a season-low 39 points in a 74-39 setback in Durham, NC.
The Eagles have done it with strong defense as they are allowing opponents only 63 points per game. In the loss to NCCU, the Bison's two top scorers, James "JT" Miller and Charles "CJ" Williams, who average 32 points between, were held to 8 points between them.
It will be important for the Bison to get more production from Collins, Solomon "Solo" Mangham and Marcel Boyd if they are to derail the Eagles.
Game Notes: /documents/2017/2/20//MBBALL_28.pdf?id=530
NEXT UP: Howard travels to Norfolk, Va next Saturday to take on the Spartans of Norfolk State at 7:30 pm.
