Men's Basketball

Complete Game Notes

Game 13
Howard (3-10) vs. Furman (0-11)

Date: Saturday, Dec. 29
Time: 8 p.m. EST
Place: McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, Calif.
Series: First meeting

The Game
This is the consolation game of the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic pitting the Bison of Howard University from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Paladins of Furman University from the Southern Conference.  The Bison (3-10) are in the throes of a 6-game skid, the latest a 97-48 decision to host St. Mary's College on Friday in the first round.  The Paladins (0-11) are still looking for their first win after being out-scored, 103-72 by Cal State Fullerton in the other first round match-up.

Howard
Probable Starters

Reserves

Furman
Probable Starters

Reserves

The Coaches
Howard is coached by Gil Jackson (Elizabethtown College, '69), who is in his third season and has a 19-51 career record to date.  Furman is coached by Jeff Jackson (Cornell, '84), who is in his second season and has a 15-27 record to date.

Paladin Notes
The Paladins have lost 12 straight dating back to last season and 15 out of 16 overall...Opacic had 19 points in the loss to Cal State Fullerton while Dehm had 15 off the bench...Furman lost despite shooting 50 percent from the floor for the game...the Paladins are shooting 74 percent from the free throw line as a team...they are taking an average of 20 three-point attempts per game...Furman committed 21 turnovers in the loss to Cal State Fullerton and are averaging 18 per contest... the Paladins allowed 15 three pointers in the loss to Cal State Fullerton.

Bison Hooves
The Bison have had 10 different starting lineups due to injuries...the team lost projected starting point guard and Chicago native Julius Hearn before the season started to a knee injury that required surgery...then both freshman forward Adam Walker and freshman guard Kyle went down with injuries just before the season opener...they both returned in the third game only to have starting forward Randy Hampton suffer a concussion in the game against Hampton that caused him to miss the past four games...and if that was not enough, starting point guard Jeron Smith suffered a knee injury following a dunk in the game against American University and leading scorer Eugene Myatt suffered a knee contusion in that same game, forcing them to miss two games...Myatt and Smith returned to the lineup for the Bison in the loss to St. Mary's for the first time since December 10...Myatt came off the bench to lead the team with 11 points in 17 minutes while Smith tallied 5 points in 20 minutes as a reserve...both he and Jeron Smith are shooting over 50 percent from the field...freshman guard Kyle Riley has led the team in scoring two of the past four games, including a career-high 17 against VMI...as a team, Howard is shooting only 25 percent from three-point range...the Bison have had troubles rebounding as their opponents hold an eight-rebound per game advantage...Howard is on a pace to have one of its best seasons in recent years in blocked shots...the Bison currently average 4.4 per game...Walker leads the way with 15 rejections while Kirkpatrick has 12...Myatt's 30 three-point baskets are more than he scored in the previous two seasons combined.

Next Up
The Bison, who will be playing their fourth road game in 9 days, get a much-needed break as they close out the non-conference schedule and prepare for MEAC play on January 12 when they host Bethune-Cookman.