Bison Fall Short At The Buzzer

By Tyrone McCandies

Boxscore

Washington, DC -Howard University continue to improve their play but poor shooting from the field and a buzzer beater by D.C. native Derrick Davis doomed them to a 69-67 defeat at the hands of South Carolina State before 1,527 at the Burr Gymnasium.  The Bison fall to 2-9 (1-1 in the MEAC) while the Bulldogs improved to 4-8 (2-0 in the MEAC)

The Bulldogs used the inside combination of Thurman Zimmerman (10 points) and Brian Mason (24 points, 10 rebounds) to go on a 14-7 run in route to building a 28-21 advantage in the first half. The Bison, who shot only 29 percent, used stingy defense and great foul shooting to keep the Bulldogs from pulling way.

The Bison went to a 1-3-1 zone that frustrated S.C. State and kept them from pulling away. “We wanted to change the tempo in the second half,” stated Bison Head Coach Gil Jackson. “They seem to get a rhythm against our man to man so we wanted to slow them down. It helped us a little bit in the second half.”

The teams would go back and forth in the second half until a three-pointer by Derrick Davis (14 points) put South Carolina State up by five, 62-57. The Bison would score the next five points on free throws by Louis Ford (10 points) and a three-pointer by Darek “Skip” Mitchell to even the score.

Howard would trade baskets with South Carolina State until Ford hit a free-throw to tie the game up at 67. From there Davis would take the ball the length of the court to score with no time on the clock.

“It feels great to get the win,” Davis said after the game. “It’s always great for me to come home and play in front of my family and friends.”

The Bison have now lost 3 tough games to teams that could very well challenge for NCAA tournament bids. “We have to got to get better as a team” said Jackson. “We have to learn how to close out games and compete. This game will test the character of this team.”

Game Notes: Howard out-rebounded an opponent for the first time this season by a margin of 34-31. Darryl Hudson led the Bison with 14 points and 9 rebounds while Jason Trotter had 12 points to go along with 9 boards. Howard hurt itself by shooting only 35 percent from the field. Howard will next travel to Norfolk State on Saturday.

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Head Men's Basketball Coach
Gil Jackson