NORFOLK, Va. (March 13, 2025) - Howard University men's basketball team, the No. 4 seed, opens the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Quarterfinal Round against the Bears of Morgan State (MSU), the No. 5 seed, at the Scope in Norfolk, Va. The tipoff is scheduled for Thursday, March 13 at 6 p.m.
 
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GAME 32
 
EVENT: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Quarterfinal Round
PARTICIPANTS: Morgan State (Bears) vs. Howard (Bison)
DATE: March 13, 2025
TIME: 8 p.m.
LOCATION: The Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Va.
 
LAST TIMEOUT
 
MORGAN STATE
 
MSU (13-17, 7-7 MEAC) closed out the regular season with an 82-75 road loss at Coppin State Thursday (March 6). Kameron Hobbs led the Bears with 23 points, Daniel Atikoby with a double-double (15 points & 15 rebounds) and Will Thomas chipped in with 12 points and seven assists.
 
HOWARD
 
On March 6, senior guard Marcus Dockery (Washington) scored a game-high 23 points to lead four Bison in double figures, but it was not enough to overcome a late run as HU fell, 81-69, versus Norfolk State at The Burr.
 
LAST TIMES THAT THEY MET
 
On 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. The Bears were led by Thomas with 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting and Hobbs with 27 points and three assists.
 
On Jan. 11, Dockery scored 15 of his game-high 25 points and fellow D.C. native graduate guard Anwar Gill added 12 of his 14 points in the second stanza as the Bison outlasted Morgan State, 100-95, at Burr Gymnasium. For the Bears, Hobbs and Thomas each tallied 24 points. Akitoby notched a double-double (17 points & 10 rebounds) in a losing effort.
 
SERIES RECORD
 
In the last meeting, Howard defeated Morgan State, 87-81, in a shootout at Hill Fieldhouse in Baltimore (February 22, 2025) for its fourth straight win over its Beltway rival. The Bears last win came on January 27, 2024, in Baltimore. Howard holds a 15-12, advantage since the 2005-06 season.
 
THE COACHES
 
Morgan State is led by Kevin Broadus (Bowie State, '90), who is in his sixth year at the helm. 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.
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
MORGAN STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
0           Kameron Hobbs                        16.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 52 3FGM, 74 assists & 84-percent FT%
12        Daniel Atikoby                           9.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 58-percent FG% & 33 blocks
10        Will Thomas                              14.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 46-percent FG% & 81-percent FT%
9           Jaden Martin                             3.8 ppg & 3.1 rpg
3           Ron Lawson                               3.8 ppg & 3.1 rpg
 
MORGAN STATE KEY RESERVES
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
11        Amahrie Simpkins                  12.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg & 58-percent FG%
4           Kiran Oliver                                6.0 ppg & 3.4 rpg
 
HOWARD PROBABLE STARTERS
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
3           Jaren Johnson                            5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg & 88-percent FT%
1          Anwar Gill                                  8.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 106 assists, 49-percent FG% & 31 steals
5          Marcus Dockery                      16.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 79 3FGM & 50-percent FG%
7          Blake Harper                             19.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 107 assists & 45-percent FG%
14        Ayodele Taiwo                          2.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 56-percent FG% & 39 blocks                   
 
HOWARD KEY RESERVES
 
No.      Name                                      2024-25 Stats                                                                        
15        Cameron Shockley-Okeke      11.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg & 75 3FGM
8          Joshua Strong                           5.6 ppg & 2.0 rpg
21        Calvin Robins Jr.                      3.1 ppg & 2.4 rpg
 
MEAC STATS
 
MORGAN STATE
 
Morgan State leads the MEAC in scoring (80.4 ppg) and blocks per game (4.4).
 
Individually, Hobbs is second in free throw shooting (84-percent), three-point shooting and three pointers made, eighth in minutes played and seventh in steals…Thomas is fifth in field goal shooting (46-percent), sixth in free throw shooting (81-percent) and 10^th in scoring (14.4 ppg)…Atikoby leads the MEAC in rebounding (7.5) and fifth in blocked shots…Amarhrie Simpkins leads the conference in field goal shooting (58-percent) and Trent Edwards is sixth in blocked shots.
 
HOWARD
 
The Bison lead the MEAC in three-point shooting (37-percent) and three-pointers made per game (8.5).
 
Individually, Harper leads the conference in scoring (19.3 ppg), second in rebounding (6.3 per game) and minutes played (34.4), fourth in assists (3.5), fifth in turnover ratio and fifth in free throw shooting (82-percent) and eighth in field goal shooting (45-percent)…Dockery ranks third in minutes played (34.3 per game) and three-pointers made (2.4 per game), fourth in field goal shooting (49-percent) and ninth in scoring (14.7)…Shockley-Okeke ranks second in three pointers made per game (2.4)…Gill ranks third in assists (3.7), sixth in assists/turnover and 12^th in minutes played (29.0)…graduate guard Joshua Strong (Minneapolis) ranks 13^th in three pointers made per game…redshirt junior forward Ayodele Taiwo (Lagos, Nigeria) is second in blocked shots.
 
GAME NOTES
 
MSU NOTES
 
The loss to Coppin State stopped a two-game win streak for Morgan State, but the Bears have split their last six headed into the tournament…Hobbs has scored in double figures in 19 straight games…Morgan State has been formidable on offense all season, the defense is allowing almost 82 points per game…In MEAC play, the Bears are getting balanced scoring as Hobbs, Thomas, Atikoby and Simpkins, all average in double figures.
 
BISON NOTES
 
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 18 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 26 straight games this season...Harper eclipsed the 100 mark in assists at North Carolina Central (March 1), giving him a team-leading 107 on the season…Dockery is quietly having his best all-around season in a Bison uniform, continuing to be one of the premier long-ball shooters 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 (2.4)…Dockery has scored in double figures 16-of-the-last-17 games while reaching 20 points eight times this season…Dockery flourished in other areas of his game, including shooting a career-best 50-percent from the field, 41-percent from downtown and 82-percent from the charity stripe…Dockery has set a new season high in assists (76)...Dockery, who is a member of the 1,000-point club (1,257 points), currently ranks third on the school's all-time list for three-pointers made (243) in a career behind James "J-Bird" Daniel, III  (245) and Charles "CJ" Williams (248)…Shockley-Okeke has reached double figures in scoring 13-of-the-last-15 games…The Bison are averaging almost 17 assists per game…Gill reached the 1,000-point mark in his career versus Norfolk State (March 6)…A nemesis for Howard has been the turnover where they are surrendering 18 points a contest off their miscues, ranking last in the conference in that category…Howard has now played with 13 different starting lineups, the most in the past 10 years…Taiwo has come up big for the Bison of late, ranking second in the MEAC in blocked shots. In the road win at Morgan State (Feb. 22), Taiwo recorded career-high 14 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, just missing his first career double-double…The 11 blocked shots by Taiwo versus North Carolina Central (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.
 
NCAA NATIONAL STATS
 
MORGAN STATE
 
The Bears rank 11^th nationally in field goal shooting percentage (49-percent).
 
HOWARD
 
Howard is ranked 22^nd in three-point shooting (38-percent) and 39^th in assists (16.2).
 
Individually, Harper ranks third behind Tre Johnson (Texas) and Cooper Flagg (Duke) among all freshmen in scoring and 27^th overall among all players…Harper is one of a few players--two being freshmen to have recorded a triple-double this season…Harper has quietly moved up to No. 2 among all Division I players in free throw attempts…Harper ranks among the top freshmen in the country in assists per game, double-doubles, minutes played and free throw shooting.
 
NEXT UP
 
The winner advances to Friday's semifinal round against top-seeded Norfolk State. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.