WASHINGTON (January 24, 2025) – Howard University men's basketball team resumes conference play Saturday (Jan. 25), facing rival Norfolk State (NSU) in a big showdown. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., live on ESPNU.
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GAME 20
EVENT: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Contest
PARTICIPANTS: Howard (Bison) at Norfolk State (Spartans)
DATE: January 25, 2025
TIME: 12:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall in Norfolk, Va.
LAST TIMEOUT
HOWARD
Monday (Jan. 20), the Bison fell, 79-76, to Morehouse College in the annual MLK Day Classic inside Burr Gymnasium before a packed house. Senior guard
Marcus Dockery (Washington) led all scorers with 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting while grabbing six rebounds in the loss.
NORFOLK STATE
Norfolk State (13-8, 3-1 MEAC) is coming off a 105-42 win over Washington Adventist Monday (Jan. 20). The Spartans had six players in double figures, led by Brian Moore with 20 points. NSU has won three-of-its-last-four contests.
SERIES RECORD
This is the 38
th meeting between the two institutions on the hardwood since 2006. Howard prevailed, 80-74, in last year's MEAC Tournament (March 15, 2024). The Spartans have won two-of-the-last-three matchups, but they have split the last six games. The Spartans hold a commanding 29-8 advantage during that period with three-of-the-last-four decided by 11 total points.
THE COACHES
Howard is coached 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. Norfolk State is led by Robert Jones (New Paltz, '02), who is in his 12
th year.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
HOWARD PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
23
Mounir Hima 0.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg & four blocked shots
1
Anwar Gill 8.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, team-leading 78 assists & 19 steals
5
Marcus Dockery 17.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 56 3FGM & 44-percent 3FG%
7
Blake Harper 18.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 64 assists, 19 steals & 82-percent FT%
3
Jaren Johnson 5.2 rpg, 3.1 rpg, 43 assists & 88-percent FT%
HOWARD KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
15
Cameron Shockley-Okeke 10.7 ppg, 44 3FGM & 44-percent 3FG%
4
Miles Stewart 3.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 60-percent FG% & nine blocks
NORFOLK STATE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
5 Brian Moore 18.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, team-high 67 assists & 38 steals
7 Kuleul Mading 6.9 ppg & 3.8 rpg
13 Sin'Cere McMahon 7.0 ppg & 1.0 rpg
9 Jordan Myers 10.1 ppg & team-leading 5.4 rpg
11 Jaylani Darden 5.8 ppg & 4.7 rpg
NORFOLK STATE KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
00 Christian Ings 12.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg & 66 assists
24 Chris Fields 5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg & eight blocks
2 Terrance Jones 5.5 ppg & 2.8 rpg
MEAC STATS
HOWARD
The Bison lead the MEAC in three-point shooting (40-percent), three pointers made per game (9.1) and assists (17.1).
Individually, freshman guard
Blake Harper (Washinton) leads the conference in scoring and rebounding, third in minutes played, free throw shooting (82-percent), fifth in assists (3.4) and assists/turnover and sixth in field goal shooting (46-percent)…Dockery again leads the MEAC in three pointers made (2.9 per game) and three-point shooting (45-percent) and minutes played (34.0 per game) and fourth in scoring (17.5 ppg) and field goal shooting (49-percent)…graduate forward
Cameron Shockley-Okeke (Norwalk, Conn.) is third in three pointers made (2.3)…graduate guard
Joshua Strong (Minneapolis) is sixth in three pointers made per game (2.0 per game)…graduate guard
Anwar Gill (Washington) leads the conference in assists (4.3), fourth in minutes played and seventh in assists/turnover ratio…redshirt junior forward
Ayodele Taiwo (Lagos, Nigeria) is ninth in blocked shots…In conference play, the Bison are shooting 56-percent from the field, including 60-percent from beyond the arc and dishing out 23 assists per game.
NORFOLK STATE
The Spartans lead the MEAC in defense (67.0 ppg allowed), scoring margin (9.3), team fields goal shooting (40-percent) and free throw shooting (75-percent).
Individually, Moore ranks second in steals, third in scoring (18.8), fourth in assists/turnover ratio and free throw shooting (82-percent) and sixth in assists and minutes played. Myer is eighth in rebounding (5.4)…Ings is fourth in assists, sixth in assists/turnover ratio and seventh in free throw shooting (71-percent)…Mading is fourth in blocked shots.
NATIONAL STATS
HOWARD
Howard ranks third nationally in three-point shooting accuracy at 41-percent and 15
th in assists.
Individually, Dockery is 19
th in three-point shooting accuracy at 44-percent.
GAME NOTES
SPARTAN NOTES
Norfolk State comes into the game having played a competitive schedule. The Spartans have faced No. 1 Tennessee, nationally ranked Baylor Bears and the Stanford Cardinal…Norfolk State has had success through use of the transfer portal as the team is comprised of five graduates, three seniors and five underclassmen…In MEAC play, the Spartans are averaging 80 points and limited their opponents to 67 points…They are shooting 79-percent from the free throw line and have recorded 17 blocks in conference play.
BISON NOTES
Harper has established himself as one of the top freshmen in the country, being named MEAC Rookie of the Week 11 time this season…A rarity in the conference, he holds the honor of having been named the MEAC Player of the Week, along with his growing list of accolades....in MEAC play, he is leading the conference, averaging 27.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in conference contests...the talented freshman also holds the distinction of being the rank fourth among all freshmen in scoring in the NCAA Division I behind Ace Bailey and Bryce Harper of Rutgers and Cooper Flagg of Duke…Harper is one of a handful of Division I players to have recorded a triple-double this season…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…Dockery has flourished in other areas: shooting 46-percent from the field; 44-percent from downtown and 84-percent from the charity stripe…Dockery is scheduled to set a new career high in assists...Dockery ranks 19
th in the country in three-point field shooting percentage…Shockley-Okeke has come on strong for Howard during its recent surge in scoring, averaging over 20 points in the past four games while connecting on 28-of-46, including 20-of-36 from downtown while also grabbing 19 rebounds…Shockley-Okeke recorded a career-high 27 point in the loss to Bowie State (Jan. 15)…Graduate guard
Jaren Johnson (Lynwood, Calif.) has also stepped up…in the past five games, Johnson scored 34 points, dealt out 17 assists and converted on 17-of-20 from the free throw line…Johnson's best showing was Delaware State (Jan. 4) with a season-high 12 points and six assists…The Bison are averaging almost 18 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 18 points a contest off their miscues and last in assists/turnover ratio in the MEAC…The shorthanded Bison continue to play without the services of Strong,
Bryce Harris (Brentwood, N.Y.), the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, starting forward
Dom Campbell (Scarborough, Maine) and junior reserve guard
Ose Okojie (Brampton, Canada), who combine for almost 30 points and 20 rebounds among them and their statuses are unknown at this time…The Bison's woes were compounded in the loss to Morehouse (Jan. 20) as they played without the services of Gill, the team leader in assists, and senior forward
Mounir Hima (Tillaberi, Niger), who both sat out with illnesses…Howard has now played with 11 different starting lineups, the most in the past 10 years.
NEXT UP
Saturday (Feb. 1), Howard meets Hampton in the next chapter of the Battle of the Real HU. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m., at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in D.C.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
