Howard Drops Road Decision to First Place Norfolk State
Norfolk, VA—January 9---Pendarvis Williams and Chris McEachin each scored 16 points to lead Norfolk State to a 68-48 win over Howard University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at Echols Hall. It is the fifth straight loss for the Bison.
The Spartans (12-5 overall, 4-0 in the MEAC) used a 20-6 run over the first 10 minutes to put the game away after maintaining a 34-23 lead at the half. Williams and McEachin did most of the damage as they combined for 16 of the 20 points during the run which broke the game open.
The Bison (4-14 overall, 1-4 in the MEAC) were plagued by a poor shooting effort and turnovers, missing 23 of 30 shots for a frigid 23 percent in the second stanza.
The Bison's leading scorer, Glenn Andrews, who came into the game averaging 24 points in the past three games, failed to score a field goal and finished with two points.
Normally a good free throw shooting team (70 percent on the season), Howard had its poorest performance of the season, missing 13 for season-low 56 percent.
The Spartans, who are having their best start in recent history, did not shoot the ball especially well (40 percent), but they made up by parlaying 16 points off Howard turnovers and 17 points off second chances into a victory.
"I thought that we played hard and competed as evidenced by our rebounding and defense," said Howard Coach Kevin Nickelberry. "But we had problems on the offensive end and I think that you can attribute that to their experience. They were able to make plays and capitalize on out mistakes."
The Bison were led by freshman Prince Okoroh with 8 points and freshmen center Theodore Boyomo and sophomore guard Tre Lee, who each tallied 7 points.
Howard played the entire game without the services of starting point guard Calvin Thompson, who is nursing a shoulder injury, and most of the second half without reserve point guard Simuel Frazier, who suffered a leg injury and did not return.
The Bison completed a grueling schedule that features five games in 11 days, four of which were on the road and two against nationally ranked Kansas and Kansas State. Their next two games are this Saturday and Monday against North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central, respectively.
"We have played well at home," said Nickelberry of the Bison's 4-1 mark at home this season. "We can't use the road as an excuse for our failures, but I think coming home at this point in the season is what we need to re energize us for the stretch run."
NEXT UP: Howard hosts the rival Aggies of North Carolina A&T on Saturday at 4 pm and follow with the Eagles of NC Central on Monday at 7:30 pm.
