Norfolk, Va---Solomon "Solo" Mangham scored a team-high 18 points to lead four players in double figures to help Howard University pull out a 79-73 team victory over Coppin State in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament at the Scope Arena. The Bison (9-23) advance to the quarterfinal round when they will play the Number 3 seed, Morgan State on Thursday.
It was Mangham and Damon Collins who carried the offensive load for Howard in the first 20 minutes, combining for 24 of the Bison points en route to a 33-22 lead at intermission.
The Bison came out of the locker room and threatened to put the game away, using a 13-6 run over the first five minutes to open a 46-28 lead –the biggest of the game--five minutes in the second stanza. It was Charles "CJ" Williams and James "JT" Miller who spearheaded the run as they combined all of the scoring.
That is when the undermanned Bison fell into foul trouble and the Eagles (8-24) made their move. The Bison got some unexpected contributions from reserves Cameron Lewis and Kofi Andoh but it was not enough to hold off Coppin State which went on a 27-17 spurt over a 10-minute stretch and got the deficit to under double digits at 69-63.
On the ensuing possession, the Bison appeared to be in danger of letting the lead slip away when Coppin State forced them deep into the shot clock. Then came what was the turning point of the game.
With the shot clock winding down, Williams elevated with a Coppin State defender draped all over him and hit a bomb from NBA range to send the lead to nine, but more importantly, took something out of the Eagles' comeback.
"Without question, that was a back breaker," said Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "They still played tough but it seemed to change the game."
When asked about the shot and whether he was comfortable with it from the freshman, who was honored in the pregame as Rookie of the Year, Nickelberry smiled and replied, "That is why we brought him here to make shots like that."
The Eagles would go on to twice cut the deficit to six, but Howard was able to salt the game away at the free throw line, scoring their last 15 points from there. For the game, the Bison shot a season-high 56 free throws, 45 in the second half alone of a free throw shooting contest that featured 104 free throw attempts combined by both teams.
Miller, the team's second leading scorer (15 points per game) who went scoreless in the first 20 minutes, came up big in the second half, tallying all 13 of his points as did reserve center/forward Tyler Stone who added all seven of his points in the final 20 minutes.
"This group has been resilient throughout all the injuries and lineup changes we have had all season," said Nickelberry. "Early on, it was Solo (Mangham) and Damon (Miller) who carried us. Then
CJ (Williams) and Tyler stepped up the second half. We have been playing our best basketball over the past seven games and we have never lost focus of our goal and that is to win the championship. Tonight was one step."
The game was almost a carbon copy of the affair back in January when the Bison squandered an 18-point lead and allowed Coppin State to escape with a victory at Burr Gymnasium.
The Eagles were led by freshman Dejuan Clayton, who led all scorers with 23 and Lucian Brownlee, who tallied 16.
The Bison got 18 from Mangham, 15 from Williams and 13 each from Collins and Miller.
Howard will move onto Thursday's quarterfinal round where they will face the Bears, a team that they defeated at Burr in their only meeting of the season.
"We know that it is going to be a tough game," predicted Nickelberry. "Todd (Bozeman) is a good coach and there is a reason they are the Number 3 seed. We will have to continue playing the way we did tonight to have a chance to win and advance."
