Norfolk, Va---Playing shorthanded without the services of yet another starter, the Howard University men's basketball team fought and scrapped its way but in the end, Norfolk State used its depth to pull away to a 73-65 win over the Bison in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game at Joseph Echols Hall. 

The Bison (7-22, 4-10 in the MEAC) learned before the start of the game that James "JT" Miller, the team's second leading scorer at almost 16 points per game, would not play due to a thigh injury. 

As a result, Howard had to turn to freshman guard Charles "CJ" Williams and senior forward Solomon "Solo" Mangham for its scoring and they both responded. Williams led all scorers with 14 points and Mangham added 8 as the Bison played the second place Spartans to a 32-all tie at intermission. 

Norfolk State (15-14, 12-3 in the MEAC) tried its best to put the short-handed Bison away but Kofi Andoh, Tyler Stone and Damon Collins all stepped up to keep it close. The Bison's problems were compounded by foul trouble as three of their starters fouled out. 

The deeper Spartans got a strong second half from Zaynah Robinson, Jonathan Wade and Kerwin Okoro, who combined for 27 of their team's 41 second half points. 

Still, Williams almost single handedly kept his team in the game proving to be almost unstoppable at times. The Bison were also able to keep pace due to their efforts on the glass. For the game, Howard out rebounded the Spartans, 48-37, including 23-8 on the offensive glass. 

But fatigue began to settle in and it impacted the free throw shooting. Howard missed 11 of 19 in the second half and 13 of 25 overall for 48 percent. 

The Norfolk State bench also proved to be a factor as the Spartans maintained a 23-10 advantage in bench points. 

Norfolk State had four players in double figures: Robinson and Wade, each with 16, Okoro with and Alex Long with 12 off the bench.

For Howard, Mangham recorded his seventh double double of the season with 13 and 14 rebounds while Williams added 5 rebounds, a couple of assists, a steal and a block to his stat line. 

Despite the loss, the play over the past four games has been encouraging headed into the tournament. It marked the second straight time that Howard has gone toe-to-toe with one of the Top two teams in the league standings. The Bison lost a close contest to North Carolina Central on Monday. 

NEXT UP: Howard closes out the home regular season on Monday when it hosts Maryland Eastern Shore at Burr Gymnasium on Senior Night for eight members of the team at beginning at 8 pm.