PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (January 8, 2023) - Coming off an impressive 84-64 win over Delaware State in Saturday's (Jan. 7) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener, the Howard University men's basketball team faces a stern test Monday (Jan. 9) when it takes on the much-improved University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) squad at 7:30 p.m. inside the William Hytche Athletic Center.
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The game will air on
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live stats available.
LAST TIMEOUT
Howard (8-9, 1-0 in the MEAC) got a breakout performance from sophomore guard
Marcus Dockery (Washington), who paced the team with 19 points, compliments of some torrid outside shooting (5-of-8 from beyond the arc). A transfer from the University of Maryland, the sharpshooting southpaw got his team off to fast start. His teammates begin to feed off his energy as Howard Head Coach
Kenneth Blakeney made liberal substitutions and they all delivered.
It was second-year Bison guard
Elijah Hawkins (Washington) with his usual play, scoring nine points and finding teammates to the tune of eight assists. Fellow classmate guard
Bryce Harris (Brentwood, N.Y.) continues to remain an unsung hero, adding 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
Graduate guard
Jelani Williams (Washington) was perfect from the field (3-of-3) and from the charity stripe (4-of-4) for his 10 points off the bench.
Shy Odom (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), a 6-foot-6 freshman forward, who had led the team in scoring the past four games, scored only eight points, but had five rebounds and two assists in the win. Normally a starter, junior forward
Jordan Wood (San Antonio) came off the bench to contribute eight points and a block in 22 minutes.
For the game, Howard shot 59-percent (30-of-51) and a season-best 50-percent (11-of-22) from beyond the arc.
MATCHUP PREVIEW
THE SERIES
Howard swept the Hawks last year, winning, 72-64, in D.C. (Feb. 5, 2022) and, 77-71, in Princess Anne, Md. (Feb. 14, 2022).
HOWARD
Entering Monday's showdown, Hawkins ranks among the conference leaders in multiple categories, including free throw percentage (4
th), assists (3
rd), assists/turnover ratio (6
th) and steals (7
th).
Settle leads the MEAC in free throw shooting (85-percent) while sitting fifth in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and eighth in blocked shots (0.8 bpg).
MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
Howard will need that same kind of effort against the veteran Hawks (7-8, 0-1 in the MEAC), who are coming a hard-fought 57-46 road loss against the defending MEAC Champions Norfolk State Saturday (Jan. 7). The loss snapped a four-game win streak, which included a road win over Temple, 86-78 (Dec. 20).
Maryland Eastern Shore is undefeated inside the Hytche Center this season (5-0).
UMES is led by senior guard Da'Shawn Phillips (10.5 ppg) and graduate guards Zion Styles (9.9 ppg) and Nathaniel Pollard, Jr. (8.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg).
Eastern Shore leads the conference in points allowed (67.0 ppg) and second in free throw percentage (72-percent) and steals (10.4 spg).
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Howard travels to Norfolk, Va., to take on the Spartans of Norfolk State Saturday (Jan. 14) at 4 p.m.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
