WASHINGTON (February 12, 2018) – Coach Kevin Nickelberry and the Howard University Men's Basketball team rolled past Maryland Eastern Shore, 84-56, inside The Burr.
 
HU (8-19, 5-6 MEAC) shot 50-percent (27-of-54) from the floor and 80-percent (24-of-30) at the charity stripe. Defensively, Maryland Eastern Shore (6-21, 2-10 MEAC) was held under 28-percent (19-of-69) shooting from the field.
 
"It was a big focus on defense," Nickelberry stated. "We gave up a lot of points the last couple games, so we had a big emphasis of taking defense personal. We're a very talented offensive team so we can score in the 70s and 80s all year, but we need to start stopping people. We wanted to be effective defensively and we were able to do that tonight."
 
Four Bison reached double-figures, led by sophomore Charles Williams with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The Virginia native also shot 90-percent (9-of-10) from the foul line.
 
Moments into the second half, freshman star RJ Cole drained a trey ball and gave the Bison its largest lead of the game, 47-16.
 
Maryland Eastern Shore refused to go away, cutting the deficit as low as 14 on multiple occasions, but Howard closed out the game on a 15-2 run.
 
Cole saw his streak of 20-plus points come to an end after scoring 18 points while falling a board shy of earning a double-double. The New Jersey product scored 20 or more in 11 consecutive games, dating back to Dec. 22.
 
Eastern Shore's Tyler Jones made a layup and pulled the Hawks within one, 9-8, with 14:11 remaining before intermission, but HU responded with a 15-2 spurt and ballooned its lead to double-digits, 24-10.
 
Howard kept the pressure on, forcing the Hawks into tough shots while capitalizing on the offensive end. HU held a 28-point advantage at the break, 44-16.
 
Senior Dalique Mingo had a career-high 17 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Redshirt junior Jalen Jones posted a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 10 boards in the win.
 
"It was big that Jalen [Jones] was stepping in for Zion [Cousins]," said Nickelberry. "That's a big hole to fill and he did a great job stepping in. He stepped in and did a great job of giving us energy, effort, and leadership. That's what we needed, and he did a great job tonight."
 
Maryland Eastern Shore's Miryne Thomas recorded a double-double (18 points and 11 boards) while Jones and Colen Gaynor combined for 25 points in a losing effort.
 
HU heads south for a pair of rematches against North Carolina A&T State (Feb. 17) and North Carolina Central (Feb. 19). Saturday's action begins 4 p.m. while Monday's clash starts 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.