WASHINGTON (March 15, 2019) – No. 4 Howard University men's basketball team continues its title run when they square off against top-seeded No. 1 Norfolk State Friday (March 15) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament Semifinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside the Scope Arena.
 
Fans can follow all the action at www.MEACHoops.com.
 
LAST TIMEOUT
 
Thursday (March 14), the Bison used a balance attack to eliminate the No. 5 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 80-71, in the MEAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
Sophomore RJ Cole (Union, N.J.) nearly had a triple double, finishing with a game-high 23 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
 
Junior Charles Williams (Richmond, Va.) recorded 18 points and six boards while freshman Raymond Bethea, Jr. (Atlantic City, N.J.) netted 11 points. Redshirt junior Chad Lott (Shreveport, La.) added 11 points and six rebounds in the victory.
 
MATCHUP PREVIEW
 
Friday's clash will be the 57^th meeting between Howard and Norfolk State with the Spartans leading the series, 45-11.
 
On Feb. 2, Howard went toe-to-toe with Norfolk State and held the advantage throughout, but the Spartans rallied to top HU in the waning moments with a pair of free throws to remaining unbeaten in league play, 80-78, inside The Burr.
 
On March 7, the Bison downed Norfolk State, 98-95, after a last second shot from Cole with 1.1 seconds remaining.
 
Additionally, this will be the fourth time both squads square off in the MEAC Tournament (2011, 2012, & 2017).
 
HOWARD
 
With Thursday's win over the Wildcats, HU (17-15, 10-6 MEAC) 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 in Thursday's postgame press conference. "We're not here for anything else."
 
Currently, the Bison are riding their longest-winning streak of the season at five games.
 
Howard is led by the trio of Cole, Lott and Williams.
 
Last week (March 8), Cole was selected 2018-19 MEAC Player of the Year. Cole and Williams earned a spot on the All-MEAC First Team while Lott landed on the league's Third Team.
 
NORFOLK STATE
 
NSU (20-12, 14-2 MEAC) enters Friday as the league's regular season champion and No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament. Norfolk State knocked off No. 9 South Carolina State in the MEAC Tourney Quarterfinals and picked up its 20^th victory of the year.
 
Statistically, Norfolk State tops the league in several categories, including field goal percentage defense (40.6); 3-point field goal percentage (36.7) and blocks (4.4).
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
 
With a victory, HU advances to the title game where they will await the winner between No. 2 North Carolina A&T State and No. 3 North Carolina Central. Saturday's championship game starts 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.