CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (December 18, 2022) – Howard University men's basketball freshman Shy Odom made his home debut a memorable one, scoring a career-high 18 points to lead HU to a 66-54 win over Harvard at the Laviete Pavilion before 1,473. It marked the first time that the Bison (6-8) have defeated the Crimson in seven games.
 
"We watched Shy in his preparation the past three days and you could tell he was excited to play," said Howard men's basketball head coach Kenneth Blakeney after the game. "Sometimes, it doesn't play out that way. But in his case, it did. He got us off to a good start and that was key."
 
Odom, a 6-6 forward from nearby Chestnut Hills, Mass., got Howard going, tallying 15 points in the first 20 minutes that resulted in 30-30 tie at intermission. For the game, the talented freshman, who is coming on strong of late, connected on 8-of-12 from the floor while adding two steals on defense.
 
"I had not been home in a while, so it felt good to have all my family there for support," confessed Odom. "And then be in the starting lineup and get a win made the experience even more special. It is like it all came full circle for me."
 
From there, the tone was set as the Bison parlayed some outstanding defense, along with the timely scoring of graduate guard Jelani Williams (Washington, D.C./13 points and seven rebounds), junior forward Jordan Wood (San Antonio/13 points and seven rebounds), sophomore guard Elijah Hawkins (Washington/nine points, seven rebounds and five assists) and solid rebounding from Steve Settle, III (Glenarden, Md.) opened a 53-44 lead at the 7:19 mark. Although Harvard (7-4) cut the deficit to three twice, each time the Bison would get baskets from Wood, Williams and later Hawkins.
 
"We have started to play a little more zone because of our length," explained Blakeney. "You have Settle, who is 6-11, Wood, who is 6-9, and that has been effective because it makes teams uncomfortable."
 
To prove his point, Howard held the Crimson to 3-of-26, including 0-of-11 in the second half, from beyond the arc.
 
"The game plan was to win the battle on the boards and in the paint (39 points) and that was the key, Blakeney added. "This was a big win for us."
 
Settle, who came in the game as the team-leading scorer, finished with only five points, but his rebounding on the defensive glass was vital as he led all players with 10.
 
"We are trying to get to a point where this team is comfortable in what we are trying to do, in terms of identity," Blakeney noted. "Jelani played like a graduate senior today. He made plays in different areas for us when we needed it and I thought Bryce also quietly contributed. We have something to build on."
 
Harvard was led by Chris Ledlum (16 points & nine rebounds) and Evan Nelson (11 points).
 
SERIES: The win snaps a winless streak against Harvard, which now leads the series, 6-1.
 
NEXT UP: Howard returns home for a matchup against Mount St. Mary's Wednesday (Dec. 21) at 2 p.m. in The Burr. The game will be broadcast on http://www.hbcugo.com.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.