WASHINGTON (January 30, 2023) - The Howard University men's basketball team is playing its best basketball of the season after defeating North Carolina Central (NCCU), 71-67, Saturday (Jan. 28) in a pivotal Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) showdown inside The Burr. Next up is South Carolina State (SC State) Monday (Jan. 30), tipoff at 7:30 p.m. inside Burr Gymnasium.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
 
The game will be streamed live on the Howard Athletics website (www.hubison.com) and there will be live stats available.
 
LAST TIMEOUT
 
In the win over NCCU, it was again the leadership of sophomore guard Elijah Hawkins (Washington) that proved to be the catalyst for the victory. The 5-foot-11 D.C. native led his team with a double-double (17 points & 10 assists), along with five rebounds and two steals.  Hawkins, who is playing as well as anyone in the MEAC, was a perfect 3-for-3 from the arc and 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
 
During the current streak, it is a team effort. Sophomore sharpshooter Marcus Dockery (Washington) added 16 points on 4-of-5 from downtown and freshman forward Shy Odom (Roxbury, Mass.), the odds-on-favorite to win MEAC Rookie of the Year, continues to grow as he contributed 15 points.
 
Reliable redshirt junior forward Steve Settle, III (Glenarden, Md.) did his things with eight boards, seven points, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Junior forward Jordan Wood (San Antonio) and graduate guard Jelani Williams (Washington) added nine points and five points, respectively.
 
MATCHUP PREVIEW
 
SERIES RECORD
 
SC State leads the series, 9-6, dating back to 2007-08 season. The two have split the last six with the margin of victory averaging five points.
 
HOWARD
 
The win over the Eagles was the fifth straight for the streaking Bison, who have won five straight and remain undefeated at home in conference play this season.
 
They currently share a piece of first place with Maryland Eastern Shore, which handed Howard its only conference loss of the season, back in Princess Anne (82-73, Jan. 9).
 
Howard is sharing the ball, averaging 14.2 assists per game and sits third in free throw shooting (72-percent).
 
Individually, Hawkins leads the MEAC in assists (5.7 per game) while among the league leaders in assist/turnover ratio (3^rd), free throw shooting (81-percent/4^th), steals (5^th) and scoring (13.1 ppg/7^th).
 
Settle leads the conference in free throw shooting (84-percent) while sixth in rebounding and eighth in blocked shots.
 
Dockery is fourth three-pointers made per game and Wood is fifth in three-point shooting percentage.
 
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
 
In South Carolina State (3-19, 0-6 MEAC), the Bison play a team that is struggling, having lost six straight, the latest an 82-68 decision to Norfolk State on the road Saturday (Jan. 28).
 
The Bulldogs are led by sophomore guard Lesown Hallums (11.8 ppg & 3.4 rpg), junior guard Rakeim Gary (11.5 ppg, team leader with 58 total assists), freshman guard "DJ" DaJuan Bates (11.0 ppg) and junior forward Justin Wilson (team-leading 13 total blocks).
 
Much of the Bulldogs problems have come on the defensive end, allowing a conference-high 82 points per outing. Their opponents are shooting at a 52-percent clip.
 
NEXT UP
 
Howard gets a much-needed break and will return to the court Saturday (Feb. 11) when they travel to Dover, Del., to take on the Hornets of Delaware State at 4 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.