NCCU AT HOWARD GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE GAME
Three games into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schedule, NCCU sits at 2-1 in league action, still on the lookout for their first road win of the season. Head coach LeVelle Moton and his squad enter the first of many crucial road swings as NCCU is away from Durham for the next three contests as they face Howard (Jan. 16), Coppin State (Jan. 21), and Morgan State (Jan. 23).
THE SERIES
NCCU and Howard are meeting for the 62nd time in program history with the Eagles eeking out a 79-70 victory in our nation’s capital last season on Feb. 5, 2011. Prior to that meeting, March 1, 1980 was the last occasion where these long-time rivals met. NCCU leads the series 35-26 all-time over Howard dating back to Feb. 2, 1937. The Eagles are 259-255 against MEAC opponents all-time.
THE NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. begins at 5:15 p.m. (EST) on Monday, Jan. 16th and can be heard and seen only online at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, will be joined alongside former great Danielle Johnson-Webb for wall-to-wall action for Monday's MEAC doubleheader. Fans can also follow the both contests of the twinbill on twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and @NCCUradio and by using the hashtag #NCCUHOW to stay up-to-date on the contest.
HOWARD UNIVERSITY "BISON"
Howard University enters Monday evening’s play with a 4-15 record overall and sits at 1-5 in the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) following Saturday’s 70-65 loss at home to North Carolina A&T. In the defeat, the Bison went just 19-of-30 (63.3 percent) from the free-throw line, while the visiting Aggies finished the day 20-for-26 (76.9 percent) from the charity stripe to hang on for the win. Entering Monday’s meeting, Howard is dealing with a six-game losing streak. Howard’s last win came on the road on Dec. 22 against Delaware (88-83) from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Since then HU’s average margin of defeat is 20.6 points, but the Bison have a six-point loss to Coppin State (83-77), a two-point loss to Hampton (57-55), and Saturday’s five-point loss to A&T, proving that this team is on the brink of getting back in thew win column. The Bison are led by senior transfer Glen Andrews, who has played in just nine games this season after transferring from Tulsa. He is averaging 15.1 points per ballgame while grabbing 3.7 rebounds per tilt. Andrews struggled against A&T on Saturday afternoon going 3-for-13 from the field including a 2-for-11 mark from the outside, but went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the loss to finish with 16 points. Redshirt junior Calvin Thompson got his 11th start of the season over the weekend against NC A&T scoring 17 points, shooting 6-for-16 from the field that included five assists and eight of the 15 turnovers recorded by the Bison in the loss. Thompson is second on the team averaging 10.0 points per game while grabbing 4.1 rebounds per contest. The Bison are 10th in the league in scoring (60.7 points per game) and ninth in points allowed (73.4 points per game). Howard is coached by second year head coach Kevin Nickelberry who is 10-39 in his second season at HU, and 102-115 in six seasons as a collegiate head coach. If Eagle fans can rewind to last Feb., NCCU trailed for most of the game against Howard at Byrr Gymnasium and it took a solid second half effort from the likes of Jeremy Ingram who scored 10 points, and Landon Clement’s 26 points, including 11 in the final 31 seconds to allow the Eagles to pull away for the 79-70 win.
UP NEXT
NCCU heads back up to north to Baltimore, Md. for a Saturday-Monday road swing against Coppin State (Jan. 21 at 4:00 p.m.) from the Physical Education Complex and Morgan State from Hill Field House (Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m.). This is the final two contests in the Eagles three-game swing. Entering the week, Coppin State is locked up with NCCU (2-1), Bethune-Cookman (2-1), and Hampton (2-1) for third place, and Morgan State is 1-1 and picked to win the league in the preseason.
