Howard University's men's basketball team is set to co-host the Mako Medical Duke Classic multi-team event (MTE) with Duke University. The event will honor Dr. Onye E. Akwari (OWN-yay ak-WAR-ee) versus Bellarmine University Sunday, December 6 at 6 p.m. in Burr Gymnasium, on ESPN+. 

News and Notes:

• Ten new-players saw action during the Paradise Jam Tournament to open up the season.
• Four players averaged double-digit scoring during the tournament Kyle Foster (12.3), Makur Maker (11.5), Steve Settle III (10), and Jordan Wood in his only action recorded (11).
• Kyle Foster recorded a career-high 23 points, sinking four long balls, going 8-for-16 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the charity line. The last time Foster led the Bison in scoring, he did it in a back-to-back games, scoring career highs versus Morgan St. (15pts- 1/18/20) and Yale (19pts- 1/20/20). 
• True freshman Rahim Ali, Jr. averaged 9.7 points, 4.7 assists, and six rebounds in his first three games, starting the last two. He recorded a career-high 14 points in his collegiate debut. 
• Howard improved on the offensive side, averaging 73 points a game, recording 70+ points in all three contests to start the season. The Bison did not reach 70+ until the tenth game of the season in a 94-91 overtime win versus Hampton, averaging 69.9 points per game last season.
• The Bison roster features ten players from the DMV area. 
• The late Dr. Akwari, a Nigerian-American and the first African-American surgeon on the faculty of Duke University, passed away in Durham in April 2019 at the age of 76. Recruited to Duke as associate professor of surgery in the School of Medicine in 1978, Akwari was revered for advancing the cause of both underrepresented minorities and women in the field of medicine. Notably, Akwari organized the first meeting for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons in 1989 – a gathering that included Dr. LaSalle Leffall Jr., who was the chair of surgery at Howard University and a contemporary of Akwari's.
•  Among his many pupils and mentees was Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, who is a surgeon and the sitting president of Howard University.

The Series:

• This contest is the first meeting between Bellarmine and Howard.

About Bellarmine:

• The Knights are the newest member of the ASUN Conference, joining June 1. 
• Before the pandemic forced its cancelation, Bellarmine last season had earned its 12th consecutive berth in the NCAA II Tournament, which represented the nation's longest active streak.
• Bellarmine was among the premier programs in Division II before elevating to Division I. In the last decade, the Knights captured the 2011 NCAA II national title and made three additional appearances in the Final Four.

Fan Attendance:
 

• Pursuant to the District of Columbia's COVID plan for Phases 1-3, all games contested within D.C. must be held without spectators and broadcast only. In Phase 2, personnel allowed inside venues are limited to facilitate broadcasting, with stringent physical distancing and PPE required.

Up Next:

• Howard will face off against former MEAC rival Hampton University, December 18 for a 9 p.m. scheduled tip-off. The game will air on ESPN+. Last season the Bison defeated Hampton in overtime for Blakeney first win as head coach and breaking an eight-game losing streak to Hampton