Gant, Myatt Combine To Lead Howard To Win Over St. Francis

Washington, DC-November 27-Will Gant scored 8 of his 11 points in the second half, including a clutch three pointer and Eugene Myatt added 9 of his 15 after intermission to lead Howard to  a 75-69 win over Saint Francis of PA in a non-conference men's basketball game at Burr Gymnasium.

            With the Bison trailing 69-68 with 35 seconds remaining, Gant came off a high screen from straight on and buried a long three pointer with the shot clock winding down.

            "Will makes that (shot) all the time," said Howard Coach Gil Jackson.  "The big thing is that he has the heart to take it."

            The shot seemed to deflate the young Red Flash (2-2) as they failed to score again.  They came down and attempted two close-in shots to tie game, but freshman center Kandi Mukole blocked them.  Jeron Smith of Howard was fouled and he went to the free throw line where he sank both to give Howard (3-3) a 73-69 advantage with 20 ticks still left on the clock.

            St. Francis came down on its next possession, but failed to get a look at the basket as the Bison defense led by Gant, who came up with the steal, closed the door.  Myatt converted two free throws to close out the scoring.

            "Kandi is going to be a very good player," predicted Jackson of the 6-8 freshman, who scored a career-high 7 points and blocked three shots.  "We just have to give him time to develop."

            The Bison showed they are developing the ability to adapt early in the season.  After winning a high-scoring 116-111 affair against VMI Saturday night, Howard was able to prevail in a grind-d-it-out contest.

            "Because Darryl and Eugene had big nights on Saturday, they both started pressing a little," said Jackson of the two who combined for 69 points against VMI.  "But they both settled down and showed poise when we needed it."

            Hudson finished with a team-high 17 points, 10 coming in the first half and 9 rebounds while Myatt added 15, six under his average, but he was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

            The Red Flash were led by freshman Devin Sweetney (Riverdale Baptist) with a game-high 20 points and J.R Enright who tallied 19 before fouling out.

            The Howard bench led by Mukole and Darek "Skip" Mitchell (8 points), outscored their counterparts, 25-11.

            "We got good production from our bench," said Jackson.  "I think we're going to have a deep team as the season progresses.

GAME NOTES:  Howard shot 83 percent (20 of 24) from the free throw line...the Bison committed a season-low 13 turnovers...Howard won despite losing the battle on the boards, 43-27...Gant was three-for-four from beyond the stripe.

NEXT UP:  Howard travels to New York to open MEAC play against the Pirates of Hampton University in the Big Apple Classic on Saturday, December 2 at 3 pm...St. Francis hosts Bucknell on Wednesday at 7 pm.