Dover, DE—February 25--Casey Walker poured in game-high 21 points and Marques Oliver and Jay Threatt added 16 and 10,and respectively to help Delaware State pull away to a 63-46 win over Howard University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference  men’s game at Memorial Hall.

The game was the regular season finale for the Bison as they have a break before they start tournament play in the MEAC Tournament, March 5-10 in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Hornets (14-12, 11-3 in the MEAC) jumped out to an early 27-13 lead on Walker’s three-point marksmanship as he, Oliver and Threatt  combined for 25 of Delaware State’s points.  The Hornets led 30-23 at the half.

The Bison (9-20, 6-10 in the MEAC) mounted a second half comeback, using a 10-2 run to start the second half and take their only lead of the game at 33-32 on two free throws by freshman guard Simuel Frazier at the 14:59 mark.

Delaware State, which has won 10 straight conference games, responded with a 26-8 run during over an eight-minute stretch to put the game away.  Walker, Oliver and Threatt again did most of the damage by scoring 22 points among them in the second stanza.

“Delaware State is a very talented team and we knew coming in that we would have to play our best to win at their place,” said Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry. “We had stretches where we played well, but we just couldn’t hit the shots or free throws when it mattered.”

Prince Okoroh and Alphonso Leary each tallied 13 points for Howard, which shot 33 percent (15 of 45) and missed 11 of 12 from the three-point line.  Howard won the rebounding battle, 35-22 and the points in the paint (26-18), but that was offset by the Hornets’ 11 blocked shots and 20 points off Howard turnovers.

The regular season concludes for Howard and the team will await for its seeding and who it play in the first round next week.  The Bison finished strong down the stretch, winning five of their last seven.

“We will use this game as a learning experience and use the time off to get ready to play at a high level for the tournament,” added Coach Nickelberry.