The Howard University Bison men’s basketball team ended its four-game losing slump with a 72-63 win over the Coppin State University Eagles on Jan. 9 at Burr Gymnasium in D.C.
The win was much-needed for the Bison; after starting the year with a 7-5 record, the recent losing slump put the team under .500 at 7-9. Those four losses came against tough non-conference teams including Columbia, Cornell and Hawaii.
Coppin State made it difficult for Howard, and led 37-33 at halftime. But Howard turned to its star junior guard, James Daniel III, who scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to help Howard pull away. Bison junior center Marcel Boyd also dominated in the second half, scoring 13 of his 23 points; he also finished with 14 rebounds.
“For most of the game, I was playing distributor, setting up my teammates,” said Daniel, who leads the country in scoring with 28 points per game, according to Howard Sports Information. “The way Marcel was playing helped me get some good looks. They were so concerned about him that it made it easier for me.”
Coppin State suffered its 10th straight loss, dropping its record to 2-14.
Next: Howard (8-9) will face Delaware State on Jan. 11, then take on Harvard on Jan. 16.