Bison’s second half rally comes up short
WASHINGTON (February 16, 2019) – Coach Kevin Nickelberry and the Howard University men’s basketball team erased a 20-point deficit but fell short to the North Carolina AandT State (NCAT) Aggies inside Burr Gymnasium, 85-81.
HU (12-14, 6-5 MEAC) struggled defensively in the first half, allowing nearly 62-percent (24-of-39) from the field, including 50-percent (7-of-14) from beyond the arc.
NCAT’s Amari Hamilton connected on a trey ball and gave the Aggies their largest lead of the game, 35-15, with more than eight minutes before intermission. HU fought back, but found themselves down 18 at the break, 60-42.
After halftime, the Bison came out swinging as they scored 18 unanswered and tied the contest with a made freebie by sophomore Zion Cousins (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 60-60.
“We played with more effort and energy in the second half,” Coach Nickelberry said after the game. “We created turnovers and scored in transition.”
Second-year guards RJ Cole (Union, N.J.) and Kyle Foster (Hampton, Va.) jumped started the Bison’s second half comeback.
Cole finished with 20 points, including 10 after intermission, while Foster connected on a rare four-point play to open the second period.
With more than seven minutes remaining, Hamilton drilled another three-pointer and extended the Aggies’ advantage to eight, 72-64, but Howard refused to go away.
The Bison tied the game at 79 off a layup by redshirt junior Chad Lott (Shreveport, La.) with 1:36 to go, but NCAT’s Aaren Edmead hit the go-ahead jumper with 46 seconds to hold off Howard.
HU reached the foul line 36 times, but only converted 61-percent (22-of-36).
“Our goal was to get to the free throw line,” Nickelberry continued. “We did not reward ourselves with making the shots at the free throw line. I think it changed the game.”
Lott had 17 points, five boards and three assists while junior Charles Williams (Richmond, Va.) added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Off the bench, Foster produced 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc.
For NCAT (14-11, 9-2 MEAC), Jackson led five Aggies in scoring with 16 points.
The Bison host North Carolina Central in their home finale Monday (Feb. 18) for Senior Night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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