WASHINGTON (January 10, 2025) – Howard University men's basketball team squares off against beltway rival Morgan State (MSU) Saturday (Jan. 11) inside The Burr. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.
 
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GAME 16
 
PARTICIPANTS: Morgan State (Bears)at Howard (Bison)
DATE: January 11, 2025
TIME:  4 p.m.
LOCATION: Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C.
 
LAST TIMEOUT
 
HOWARD
 
Saturday (Jan. 4), freshman guard Blake Harper (Washington) poured in a game-high 34 points to lead four Bison in double figures to lift HU to a 100-94 shootout win over Delaware State (DSU) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener.
 
MORGAN STATE
 
Morgan State (7-11, 1-1 MEAC) defeated North Carolina Central (NCCU), 102-98, at home in double overtime Tuesday (Jan. 9) for its first conference win of the season. The Bears were led by Kameron Hobbs, who poured in a career-high 40 points.
 
SERIES RECORD
 
Howard defeated Morgan State, 78-65, in the MEAC Tournament Quarterfinal round (March 14, 2024) in Norfolk, Va., for its second straight win over its Beltway rival. The Bears last win came on January 27, 2024, in Baltimore. Howard holds a slim 13-12 advantage since the 2005-06 season.
 
THE COACHES
 
Morgan State is coached by Kevin Broadus (Bowie State, '90), who is in his fifth year at the helm. Howard is led by Kenneth Blakeney (Duke, '95) who is in his sixth season and has led the Bison to two straight MEAC Tournament titles and NCAA appearances.
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
HOWARD PROBABLE STARTERS
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
23        Mounir Hima                          0.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg & four blocked shots
1          Anwar Gill                               8.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, team-leading 56 assists & 14 steals
5          Marcus Dockery                      16.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 41 3FGM & 42-percent 3FG%
7          Blake Harper                           18.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 46 assists, 18 steals & 80-percent FT%
3          Jaren Johnson                         4.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg & 27 assists
 
HOWARD KEY RESERVES
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
15        Cameron Shockley-Okeke      8.7 ppg, 26 3FGM & 46-percent 3FG%
8          Joshua Strong                           6.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 53-percent 3FG% & 25 3FGM
 
MORGAN STATE PROBALE STARTERS
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
0          Kameron Hobbs                     13.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, team-high 25 3FGM & 20 steals
10        Will Thomas                             13.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, & team-leading 54-percent FG%
11        Ahmarie Simpkins                  12.3 ppg
3          Rob Lawson                            8.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg & team-high 43 assists
12        Daniel Akitoby                        7.5 ppg, 6.2 & team-leading 61-percent FG%
 
MORGAN STATE KEY RESERVES
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
1          Wynston Tabbs                      15.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg & 90-percent FT%
4          Kiran Oliver                               4.4 ppg & 2.6 rpg, 
 
MEAC STATS
 
HOWARD
 
The Bison lead the MEAC in three-point shooting (40-percent), three pointers made per game (8.7) and assists (17.0).
 
Individually, Harper leads the conference in rebounding, third in scoring and minutes played, fourth in assist/turnover and free throw shooting (83-percent), seventh in assists and fifth in field goal percentage (44-percent)…senior guard Marcus Dockery (Washington) again leads the MEAC in three pointers made (2.7 per game) and three-point shooting (44-percent), fourth in scoring and sixth in field goal percentage (46-percent)…graduate guard Joshua Strong (Minneapolis) is fifth in three pointers made per game (2.0)…graduate guard Anward Gill (Washington) is third in assists (3.7) and seventh in assists/turnover ratio…redshirt junior forward Ayodele Taiwo (Lagos, Nigeria) is eighth in blocked shots.
 
MORGAN STATE
 
As a team, Morgan State leads the MEAC in scoring (81.7 ppg), blocked shots (4.4 per game) and field goal percentage (50-percent).
 
Individually, Tabbs leads the MEAC in free throw shooting (90-percent), sixth in steals and eighth in scoring and field goal shooting (45-percent)…Hobbs is third in field goal shooting (48-percent) and ninth in scoring (13.7 ppg)…Thomas is fifth in free throw shooting (81-percent) and Akibo is third in rebounding (6.2) and sixth in blocks.
 
GAME NOTES
 
BISON NOTES
 
Harper has established himself as one of the top freshmen in the country…Harper was named MEAC Player of the of the Week Monday (Jan. 6), marking the first time that a HU freshman received this honor since R.J. Cole (Jan. 2018)…Harper has been named the conference rookie of the week nine times this season...in the past three games, he has equaled his career high 34 points twice, connecting on 26-of-45 from the field, including 7-of-11 from three-point range and 25-of-28 from the charity stripe…Dockery is quietly having his best all-around season in a Bison uniform, continuing to be the premier long ball shooter in the conference for the third straight season, but it is in other areas of his game that he has flourished: shooting 46-percent from the field; 42-percent from beyond the arc and 94-percent from the charity stripe…Dockery has improved his playmaking skills as he is schedule to set a new career high in assists...graduate forward Cameron Shockley-Okeke (Norwalk, Conn.) has come on strong for Howard during its recent surge in scoring, connecting on 16-of-32 from three-point range, including a career-high 24 points in the win over Delaware State (Jan. 4)…graduate guard Jaren Johnson (Lynwood, Calif.) has also stepped up as he had his best showing versus DSU (Jan. 4) with a season-high 12 points and six assists…The Bison are averaging almost 17 assists per game and limiting opponents to 31-percent shooting from the three-point line…A nemesis for the Bison has been the turnover where they are surrendering 17 points a contest off their miscues…The shorthanded Bison continue to play without the services of Strong, senior guard Bryce Harris (Brentwood, N.Y.), the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, and junior forward Dom Campbell (Scarborough, Maine) and their availabilities are unknown at this time.
 
BEAR NOTES
 
The high-scoring Bears rank high in several offensive categories in the MEAC while shooting at a high clip…The Bears were able to put up huge numbers in the win over NCCU (Jan. 7)…The Bears did it without the services of team-leading scorer, Wynston Tabbs (15.1 ppg), but Hobbs, Thomas and Simpkins proved to be equal to the task as the formidable trio combined to score 84 of their team's season-high 100 points, all shoot over 80-percent from the charity stripe.
 
NEXT UP
 
Morgan State hosts Norfolk State Monday (Jan. 13) at 7:30 p.m., while the Bison continue its five-game home stand Monday (Jan. 13) when they take on Coppin State at 7:30 p.m., inside The Burr.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.