NORFOLK, Va. (March 14, 2019) – No. 4 Howard University men's basketball team used a balance attack to eliminate the No. 5 Bethune-Cookman (B-CU) Wildcats, 80-71, in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament Quarterfinals.
With the victory, HU moved on to the MEAC tourney semifinals for the second time in three years while winning 17 games twice in 37 years.
"We're here to win a championship," said Howard men's basketball head coach
Kevin Nickelberry. "We're not here for anything else."
Howard started strong with sophomore
RJ Cole (Union, N.J.) scoring 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half to carry the Bison.
HU took a 36-25 lead at the break and Bethune-Cookman threatened to tie the game several times, but Howard responded each time.
After scoring just five points in the first half, junior
Charles Williams (Richmond, Va.) got into a rhythm.
After the Wildcats cut a 13-point deficit to five off, Williams hit a trey ball to make it a 45-37 game with 14:46 to play.
Then, B-CU cut the margin to three off a layup by Soufiyane Diakite, but Williams responded again with an emphatic two hand slam to push the lead to 47-42.
Freshman
Raymond Bethea, Jr. (Atlantic City, N.J.) had a terrific performance off the bench in his MEAC Tournament debut. He knocked down three straight treys in the second half, including one with 4:27 to play, which gave the Bison a 66-55 lead.
The Bison forced 23 turnovers, which they converted into 20 points.
They also held the Wildcats to just 38-percent shooting (27-of-70).
Cole nearly had a triple double, adding nine assists and six rebounds.
Williams finished with 18 points and six boards while Bethea netted 11 points. Redshirt junior
Chad Lott (Shreveport, La.) added 11 points and six rebounds.
For Bethune-Cookman (14-17), Cletrell Pope had a double-double to pace the Wildcats, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Friday (March 15), the Bison (17-15) take on Norfolk State for the third time this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Scope Arena.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
