BALTIMORE (February 23, 2019) – With 1.6 seconds remaining, Coppin State's (CSU) Dejuan Clayton drove to the basket for the potential go-ahead bucket, but Howard University sophomore forward Zion Cousins (Upper Marlboro, Md.) stepped in front and took a big charge; thus, resulting in an offensive foul and giving the Bison a 74-73 victory inside the Physical Education Complex (PEC) Arena on CSU Homecoming.
 
With the win, HU (13-15, 7-6 MEAC) earned its fifth consecutive road win while grabbing the tiebreaker over CSU in the conference standings.
 
"It was a huge play for us," said Howard men's basketball head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "We needed to get a stop. That's a confidence builder for the road."
 
After taking a three-point advantage at the break, Howard found their rhythm and extended the lead to double-digits.
 
With less than 10 minutes left, redshirt junior Chad Lott (Shreveport, La.) connected on a trey ball and gave HU its largest lead, 63-42, but the Eagles refused to go away.
 
Coppin State gradually chipped away at the deficit and cut the margin as low as one with under a minute remaining.
 
"We started slow but found our rhythm in the middle [of the game]," said Nickelberry. "We were up big, but Coppin [State] came back. I'm glad we were able to come away with the victory."
 
Four Bison reached double-figures, led by sophomore guard RJ Cole (Union, N.J.) finishing with 19 points and seven dimes.
 
"We've been playing well on the road," said Cole after the game. "We've been playing in hostile atmospheres [all year]. It's nothing new to us [because] we stick together."
 
After intermission, the New Jersey native racked up 10 points, four assists and two steals to propel HU on the road.
 
"You want the ball in his hands," Nickelberry stated on Cole. "When the ball is in his hands, he makes great decisions. He's the guy that gets us going."
 
Junior guard Charles Williams (Richmond, Va.) netted 15 points while Lott chipped in 13 points. Off the bench, freshman Raymond Bethea, Jr. (Atlantic City, N.J.) added 10 points.
 
Cousins grabbed a game-high 12 boards in the win, along with the big defensive stop.
 
"We pride ourselves in defense," Cole added. "Zion [Cousins] took a big charge at the end. We kept our poise and we knew they were going to make a push, but we stayed together."
 
Four Eagles (6-22, 6-7 MEAC) scored double-figures, led by Clayton with 16 points.
 
Howard continues its Baltimore trip at Morgan State (Feb. 25). Monday's rematch is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Hill Field House.
 
"We've been road warriors all year," Nickelberry concluded. "We want to continue to be road warriors."
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.