Dover, DE---There will be a lot on the line when the Howard University men's basketball team closes out the regular season against the Hornets of Delaware State tonight at Memorial Hall. The tipoff is scheduled for 8 pm. The game will be broadcast on YouTube.
The Bison (8-22, 5-10 in the MEAC) will be looking to build on their improved play over the last five games. Despite being undermanned, battered and bruised, Howard is 3-2 during that stretch with the two losses coming to the Number 1 (NC Central) and Number 2 (Norfolk State) teams in the MEAC. Both were very close.
The improvement was never more apparent than in the Bison's 79-69 home win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday. Seniors Solomon "Solo" Mangham, Kofi Andoh, Marcel Boyd, Damon Collins and reserve Tyler Stone combined to contribute to the team win on Senior Night.
It was Mangham, the second leading rebounder in the conference (7.1) grabbing 12 boards; Andoh, who started providing six points and a lot of energy; Boyd, who came out of a slump to score 10 first half points and set the tone for the game; Collins, who has made the adjustment from small forward to point guard over the course of the season, knocking down 12 free throws; and Stone, who has played as well as anyone during this stretch, scoring a season-high 16 points that included his first-ever dunk.
Even red-shirt senior Prince Okoroh, who had played but one game this season after missing the last two, got into the act, nailing a three pointer in the opening minutes to jumpstart the Bison effort.
Howard, which is trying to improve its seeding position for next week's MEAC tournament in Norfolk, Va, will need that kind of effort against the Hornets (9-21, 6-9 in the MEAC) who are in the throes of a three-game skid. Delaware State is a half game ahead of the Bison and will be surely highly motivated on Senior Night for them.
The Hornets pinned one of NC Central's two league losses on them and they are led by Devin Morgan and DeAndre Haywood along with the deadly outside shooting of Kavon Waller and Dana Raysor, who both shoot over 41 percent from beyond the arc.
Game Notes /documents/2017/3/2//MBALL_31.pdf?id=535
NEXT UP: The regular season officially ends and Howard awaits for the pairings for the first round which get underway on Monday, March 6 at the Scope in Norfolk, Va.
