March 2, 2009

Game Notes: Howard at Norfolk State

Complete women's game notes
Complete men's game notes

Game 28
Howard (6-21, 5-9 MEAC) at
Norfolk State (1-24, 1-13 MEAC)

Date: Monday, March 2
Place: Echols Hall, Norfolk, Va.
Series: Howard leads 17-8

The Game
Howard faces off with Norfolk State in its final road game of the regular season. HU is coming off an 84-60 loss to North Carolina A&T on Saturday while NSU fell to Hampton, 73-48 in the Spartans' last time out.

Zykia Brown had a game-high 26 points in the loss to the Lady Aggies. Morgan Neal added five rebounds and Jalisa Pullins led the Bison in assists with three.

Raychele Payne paced Norfolk State in the loss to the Pirates with 14 points. Sasha Wilson pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.

Howard
Probable Starters

No. 

Name

Pos.   

Cl.   

Ht.

2008-09 Stats

22

Jalisa Pullins

G

So.

5-5

3.4 ppg/2.2 rpg

11

Zykia Brown

G

So.

5-8

17.2 ppg/5.0 rpg

21

Morgan Neal

F

Jr.

5-10

5.8 ppg/4.6 rpg

3

Natalie Day

F

Fr.

6-0

7.1 ppg/4.6 rpg

31

Tamaya Daniels

C

Sr.   

6-2  

8.0 ppg/6.4 rpg

Norfolk State
Probable Starters

No. 

Name

Pos.   

Cl.   

Ht.

2008-09 Stats

3

Tyisha Bridges

G

Fr.

5-9

6.0 ppg/2.3 rpg

20

Marquilla Evans

G

Fr.

5-8

9.2 ppg/3.8 rpg

25

Tashawna Higgins

G

Sr.

5-i

4.8 ppg/3.8 rpg

13

Danelle Tate

F

So.

5-10

8.1 ppg/3.5 rpg

34

Tiffany McNair

C

Jr.   

6-2  

2.4 ppg/3.1 rpg

Scouting Norfolk State
Norfolk State has just one conference win, a 3-point victory over South Carolina State on Feb. 21. Raychele Payne averages a team-high 10.2 points per game while Marquilla Evans adds 9.2 points per game. Evans and Tashawna Higgs are tops on the team with 3.8 rebounds per game. 

NSU is coached by Tara Owens, who is in her second season with the Spartans. She has a 5-23 mark at the school and a 97-175 career record in 11 years as a head coach.

Brown Earns MEAC, HSRN Honor
Sophomore guard Zykia Brown (Riverdale, Md./Parkdale H.S.) was named the MEAC Player of the Week on Jan. 20 and Feb. 9. That same week, Brown garnered 1,113 votes and was named the Heritage Sports Radio Network (HSRN) National Player of the Week on Feb. 12.

Daniels Named MEAC Defensive POTW
Senior center Tamaya Daniels (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham H.S.) was named the MEAC Player of the Week on Feb 2 after pulling down 15 rebounds and averaging three blocks. The senior received the same honor on Feb. 23 after aiding HU to a 2-0 record that week.

Game 29
Howard (8-20, 6-8 MEAC)
at Norfolk State (9-17, 7-7 MEAC)

Date: Monday, March 2
Place: Echols Hall, Norfolk, Va.

The Game
The Howard men's basketball team visits Norfolk State in an evening league game at Echols Hall. The Bison are coming off a 69-59 road loss to North Carolina A&T on Saturday. 

Eugene Myatt, the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, had 15 points in the loss to the Aggies. Kandi Mukole added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Mukole garnered the conference Defensive Player of the Week honor for his effort.

The Spartans took down Hampton, 90-68 in its last time out. Michael Deloach had 27 points for NSU and paced four Spartans in double figure scoring.

Howard
Probable Starters

No. 

Name

Pos.   

Cl.   

Ht.

2008-09 Stats

0

Curtis White

G

Jr.

6-4

5.9 ppg/2.7 rpg

15

Kyle Riley

G

So.

6-3

8.8 ppg/2.3 rpg

33

Eugene Myatt

F

Sr.

6-5

16.1 ppg/3.9 rpg

1

Kandi Mukole

F

Jr.

6-8

4.2 ppg/4.4 rpg

54

Paul Kirkpatrick

C

Jr.   

6-9  

7.8 ppg/4.7 rpg

Norfolk State
Probable Starters

No. 

Name

Pos.   

Cl.   

Ht.

2008-09 Stats

1

Aleek Pauline

G

So.

6-1

6.3 ppg/3.3 rpg

2

Michael Deloach

G

Sr.

6-0

21.5 ppg/5.0 rpg

21

Brandon Monroe

F

Jr.

6-7

5.1 ppg/6.9 rpg

23

Corey Lyons

F

Sr.

6-4

14.4 ppg/3.8 rpg

11

Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys

C

Jr.   

6-11 

4.3 ppg/2.8 rpg

NOTES: Since suffering through a 14-game losing streak at the start of the season, the Bison have rebounded nicely by winning seven of the last 12 games...the eight victories are more than Howard recorded (6) all of last season.  The Bison have a chance to reach double digit victories for the first time since the 2001-02 season...the Bison have had 10 different starting lineups this season due to injuries and academic issues...Paul Kirkpatrick and Eugene Myatt are the only players to start every game although Myatt missed one game due to an ankle injury...Myatt's 41 points against Coppin State equaled his career best that he recorded against VMI in 2007...he is third in the conference in free throw shooting (77 percent), fourth in scoring and fifth in minutes played...Kyle Riley has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 13 games...Adam Walker has been a big asset to the Bison's success...since resolving an academic issue that kept him out of eight games in the middle of the season, he is averaging almost seven points and over 5 rebounds per game as a reserve...Myatt is averaging almost 20 points in MEAC contests...Riley is averaging over 12 points in conference games...C.J. Prince is shooting almost 46 percent from three-point range...Riley and Curtis White are tied for the lead in assists with 62...Riley leads the team in steals.