WASHINGTON (March 13, 2019) – No. 4 Howard University men's basketball team begins its quest for a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title when they meet No. 5 Bethune-Cookman (B-CU) in the tourney quarterfinals Thursday (March 14). Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. inside Scope Arena.
Fans can follow all the action at
www.MEACHoops.com.
LAST TIMEOUT
On March 7, the Bison downed Norfolk State, 98-95, after a last second shot from sophomore guard
RJ Cole (Union, N.J.) with 1.1 seconds remaining.
Cole finished the night with a season-high 36 points and seven dimes in 36 minutes of action.
MATCHUP PREVIEW
Thursday's showdown will be the 73
rd meeting between Howard and Bethune-Cookman with the Bison leading the series, 45-27.
This season, both squads split the season series with road wins.
On Jan. 12, the Bison came up short against Bethune-Cookman, 71-63, inside Burr Gymnasium.
A month later (Feb. 11), HU completed its Florida road trip with a comeback win over the Wildcats, 79-73, inside the historic Moore Gymnasium.
HOWARD
After Thursday's regular season finale, Howard (16-15, 10-6 MEAC) secured the No. 4 spot and first-round bye. HU ended the season with a four-game winning streak, capped off by a nail-biting win against No. 1 seed Norfolk State, 98-95.
"We must continue to play defense and take good shots," said Howard men's basketball head coach
Kevin Nickelberry. "If we get stop and make shots, we'll be fine."
Furthermore, Howard enters the tourney with the top scoring offense (79.5 ppg).
Last week (March 8), Cole was selected 2018-19 MEAC Player of the Year. Cole and junior
Charles Williams (Richmond, Va.) earned a spot on the All-MEAC First Team while redshirt junior
Chad Lott (Shreveport, La.) landed on the league's Third Team.
"This time of the year, it's not about making adjustments," Nickelberry added. "It's about the players responding and I think we have a really good players."
BETHUNE-COOKMAN
B-CU (14-16, 9-7 MEAC) rides into Thursday locking up the No. 5 spot and a first-round bye.
Cletrell Pope, 2018-19 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, anchors the Wildcats' defense after leading the nation with an average of 4.23 offensive rebounds.
"It's more about us," Nickelberry continued. "We must get through those first few moments [of the game]. We need to keep them off the glass and limit second-chance points."
Malik Maitland and Shawntrez Davis are other Wildcats to watch. Both received All-MEAC honors (Maitland – Second Team & Davis – Third Team).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
With a victory, HU advances to the MEAC Tournament Semifinals where they will meet No. 1 Norfolk State. Game-time is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Scope Arena.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
