WASHINGTON (February 24, 2025) – Howard University men's basketball team returns to Baltimore Monday (Feb. 24), taking on Coppin State (CSU) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) clash inside PEC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
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GAME 28
EVENT: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) contest
PARTICIPANTS: Howard (12-15, 7-3 MEAC) at Coppin State (4-21, 2-8 MEAC)
DATE: Monday, February 24, 2025
TIME: 8 p.m.
LOCATION: Physical Education Complex Arena in Baltimore
LAST TIMEOUT
HOWARD
Saturday (Feb. 22), graduate forward
Cameron Shockley-Okeke (Norwalk, Conn.) scored 14 of his team-high 24 points in the second half and freshman standout
Blake Harper (Washington) added his 15 of his 21 points after intermission to help the Bison hold off Morgan State, 87-81, inside Hill Fieldhouse before 4,234 fans.
COPPIN STATE
Coppin State is coming off a 79-63 home loss to Norfolk State Saturday (Feb. 22). The Eagles were led by Derricus Ward, who scored 26 and grabbed seven rebounds.
LAST TIME THE TWO MET
On Jan. 13, HU defeated CSU, 90-75, at Burr Gymnasium.
Harper led the way with a double-double (25 points & 12 boards) while fellow D.C. native senior guard
Marcus Dockery added 24 points on 6-of-8 shooting from downtown.
Coppin State did not play badly, shooting 51-percent from the floor but had no answer for the Bison scoring barrage. Jonathan Dunn led the Eagles with 23 points while Toby Nnadozie added 20 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
SERIES RECORD
This is the 76
th meeting between the two institutions since 1986 with CSU leading the series, 47-29. Howard defeated Coppin State, 90-75 in their first meeting of the season in Burr Gymnasium. The Eagles last won, 59-57 (March 9, 2023).
THE COACHES
Howard is led by
Kenneth Blakeney (Duke, '95), who is his sixth season and has led the Bison to two straight MEAC Tournament titles and NCAA berths.
Coppin State is coached by Larry Stewart (Coppin State, '06), who is in his second season at his alma mater.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
HOWARD PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
14
Ayodele Taiwo 2.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg & 32 blocks & 60-percent FG%
1
Anwar Gill 8.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, team-leading 99 assists & 28 steals
5
Marcus Dockery 15.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 51-percent FG% & 70 3FGM
7
Blake Harper 19.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 96 assists & 46-percent FG
15
Cameron Shockley-Okeke 11.7 rpg, 3.0 rpg, 65 3FGM, 40-percent 3FG% & 29 assists
HOWARD KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
3
Jaren Johnson 5.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg & 89-percent FT%
8
Joshua Strong 5.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 41 3FGM & 79-percent FT%
COPPIN STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
10 Cameron Sparrow 4.9 ppg & 2.6 rpg
2 Toby Nnadozie 11.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 38 3FGM, 63 steals & 53 assists
3 Cam'Ron Brown 3.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg & 58 assists
13 Jonathan Dunn 10.5 ppg & 4.7 rpg
12 Peter Oduro 8.6 ppg & 4.1 rpg & 52-percent FG%
COPPIN STATE KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
11 Derricus Ward 14.7 ppg & 5.3 rpg
6 Julius Ellerbe 9.4 ppg & team-high 5.7 rpg
MEAC STATS
HOWARD
The Bison lead the MEAC in three-point shooting (39-percent), three pointers made per game (8.6) and assists (16.8).
Individually, Harper leads the conference in scoring (19.6), second in rebounding (6.5), third in minutes played (34.0 per game), fourth in assists, sixth in free throw shooting (81-percent) and assist/turnover ratio….Dockery ranks second in three pointers made (2.5 per game), three-point shooting percentage (41-percent), fourth in field goal shooting (career-best 51 percent) and ninth in scoring (15.9).…graduate guard
Anwar Gill (Washington) is second in assists (4.0 per game) and seventh in assists/turnover ratio…redshirt junior forward
Ayodele Taiwo (Lagos, Nigeria) leads the MEAC in blocked shots (1.4 per game).
COPPIN STATE
The Eagles are fourth in steals.
Julius Ellerbe is fifth in rebounding (5.7)…Nnadozie leads the conference in steals (2.5 per game) and sixth in minutes played.
GAME NOTES
HOWARD
Harper has established himself as one of the top freshmen in the country, being named MEAC Rookie of the Week for a record-setting and unprecedented 16 times this season while winning MEAC Player of the Week three times…Harper is one of a handful of Division I players to have recorded a triple-double this season…Harper has recorded four double-doubles this season while scoring 30 or more points four times, including a career-high 35 points versus UMES (Feb. 1)…Harper has reached double figures in 22 straight games this season...Harper needs four assists to reach 100 career dimes…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 ranks second the conference in three-point shooting percentage (41-percent) and three-pointers made per game (2.5)…Dockery has scored in double figures 14 straight games while reaching 20 points seven times this season…Dockery flourished in other areas of his game, including shooting a career-best 51-percent from the field, 41-percent from downtown and 81-percent from the charity stripe…Dockery is scheduled to set a new career high in assists...Dockery, who is a member of the 1,000-point club (1,253 points), currently ranks third on the school's all-time list for three-pointers made (238) in a career behind
James "J-Bird" Daniel, III (245)
Charles "CJ" Williams (248)…Shockley-Okeke has reached double figures in scoring in 10-of-the-last-11 games…The Bison are averaging almost 17 assists per game and limiting opponents to 31-percent shooting from the three-point line…A nemesis for Howard has been the turnover where they are surrendering 18 points a contest off their miscues…Howard has now played with 12 different starting lineups, the most in the past 10 years…Taiwo has come up big for the Bison of late…In the road win at Morgan State (Feb. 22), Taiwo recorded career-high 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, just missing his first career double-double…The 11 blocked shots by Taiwo versus NCCU (Feb. 1) were the second most in school history behind
Grady Livingston, who set the school record with 12 blocks during the 1993-94 season…Taiwo has scored 26 points, grabbed 29 rebounds and blocked 16 shots in the past six games.
COPPIN STATE
Coppin State has had problems on both offense and defense, averaging 60 points per game on offense and shooting only 38-percent from the field…Coppin State opponents are averaging 77 points and shooting 50-percent from the field…The Eagles are being outrebounded (-6.0) while giving up 17 points per game off turnovers…The Eagles got a shot in the arm with the return of Derricus Ward, who has missed significant time this season…Ward returned with 26 points on 6-of-10 from three-point lands, along with seven rebounds.
NATIONAL STATS
Howard ranks 10
th in three-point shooting percentage (39-percent) and 25
th in assists per game (16.8).
Individually, Harper is ranked 25
th in the nation in scoring (19.9 ppg)…Harper ranks second in scoring among all freshmen, behind Tre Johnson (Texas).
NEXT UP
Coppin State travels to Dover, Del., to take on the Hornets of Delaware State Saturday (March 1) at 4 p.m. Howard continues its current MEAC road swing at Durham, N.C., against the Eagles of North Carolina Central (NCCU) Saturday (March 1) at 4 p.m.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
