With five games left until tournament play, the Howard Bison are gaining steam, scoring their season high in a 90-82 win against North Carolina Central University (NCCU), tying them at second place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) standings.
Led by Marcus Dockery, a junior guard who added his season-high 26 points, the Bison had four scorers finish in double figures.
Dockery’s five 3-pointers were the forefront of a great shooting performance from the Bison, followed by Bryce Harris, a junior guard who added another stellar performance to his resume, ending the game with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Harris is now the second-leading scorer in the MEAC at 16.4 points per game. Seth Towns, a graduate student and forward for the Bison, added 12 points and seven rebounds, shooting 50 percent from the 3-point line.
Bryce Harris spoke on the Bison’s game plan coming into this matchup.
“They’re a well-rounded team with really good shot makers. They finish well around the rim so we wanted to make sure that we did our job defensively and we did,” he said.
The last time these two teams matched up, it was NCCU who came away with the 73-54 win, holding the Bison to their lowest-scoring total all season. This time around, on Feb. 17, the Bison flipped the script. Howard was fueled by their loss against NCCU and used what they learned last time to get the win this time around.
“We definitely had added motivation,” Harris said. “They beat us last time at their crib and we knew we had to get our get back.”
The offense wasn’t the only thing that gave the Bison a victory; their defense also played a major role in grabbing their fifth conference win this season. NCCU’s high-scoring backcourt of Fred Cleveland and Ja’Darius Harris were both held to under ten points in the first half. This effort to slow the Eagles’ top scorers helped the Bison take an early lead, which they held for the entirety of the game.
Harris spoke on the efforts to slow these scorers down on defense.
“Guys stepped up and played well,” he said. “Isaiah Warfield, Jordan Hairston and everybody else played a huge role. They were talking and pointing on defense, and bringing the energy we needed.”
The Bison’s next game will be on Feb. 19 as they host the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Burr Gymnasium, hoping to extend their win streak.
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
