In their nail-biting showdown against Morgan State University last week the Bison were relentless in their pursuit of victory.
They suffocated Morgan State guards with a full court press, nailed timely shots and seized the momentum from the crowd in Norfolk. A catch-and-shoot three pointer by Cameron Shockley-Okeke gave the Bison a one-point lead with 16 seconds left, as the team began to show why they carry the nickname the “The Dream Factory.”
That is, until the Bears’ 5’10 guard Kameron Hobbs sliced through the Howard half-court defense and kissed a layup off the glass over Miles Stewart to score his 33rd point of the night and gave his team a one point lead–halting a 19-3 run by the stampeding Bison.
The layup was a heart-stopper for Bison, but not a heartbreaker, as nine seconds remained on the clock on March 13.
The Bison quickly inbounded and raced up the court, out of timeouts. They immediately found Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie and Player of the Year Blake Harper who was swarmed by two defenders. Harper dished it to a cutting Jaren Johnson who rose for a layup attempt over the outstretched arms of two defenders, and the ball bounced off the underside of the rim.
A scramble ensued as the ball was tipped around, eventually corralled by Morgan State while the clock expired, and the Bison’s season came to an end with a 91-90 loss to the fifth seeded Morgan State University Bears.
Thursday’s MEAC tournament first round loss versus the Bears marked the end of an up-and-down season for Howard who finished 12-20 after winning the MEAC tournament in the previous season. The season was derailed after the Bison were gutted by key injuries, including a season-ending foot injury in November to MEAC Preseason Player of the Year Bryce Harris.
Through adversity, the Bison rallied to be competitive during conference play where they had a .500 record and secured the fourth seed in the MEAC tournament behind a stellar freshman campaign from Blake Harper and strong performances from Marcus Dockery and Cameron Shockley-Okeke.
In their final game, however, 28 points from Harper and 17 from Shockley-Okeke were unable to offset the Bear’s lights-out shooting performance, as Morgan State shot a perfect 100 percent from beyond the arc in the second half en route to victory.
Morgan State advanced to play the top-seeded Norfolk State Spartans where they fell before the tournament concluded with the Spartans capturing the conference title.
As Howard looks to regroup in order to reclaim the title in 2026, fans can expect offseason roster changes, similar to what they have in recent years. The Bison have several seniors moving on from the program, and will navigate the transfer portal as they work to retain their talent.
This talent includes Harper, who recently made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was called “one of the most tampered-with players in college basketball.” He is sure to be targeted by recruiters as soon as the transfer portal opens on March 18.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
