Howard Survives Hampton’s Late Rally in the “Battle of the Real HU”, 61-57

Cam Cillus stole the ball on Hampton’s final possession, and clutch buckets from Bryce Harris secured Howard’s 61-57 victory in the real battle for HU on Saturday evening at the CareFirst Arena in Washington, DC, for its first victory against Hampton since Nov. 6, 2023, when they secured a 92-80 win.

The first few minutes of the game were a back-and-forth struggle as the score was tied at the first media timeout. Howard (7-5) proceeded to go on an 8-0 run by hunkering down on defense and using its size advantage in the post. Hampton (5-6) answered with a 6-0 run of its own to cut the lead to two with steals and points in transition. Hampton eventually took a slight lead briefly as the back-and-forth continued.

Hampton’s Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt made the first three-point basket for either team at the six-minute mark in the first half. Howard started to regain the advantage with balanced play on both ends of the court, leading 31-27 at halftime.

Howard had the advantage in points in the paint, 22-12; however, Hampton had six second-chance points to Howard’s one for the game.

The back-and-forth defensive struggle carried over into the second half as both teams struggled to score from the field. Hampton started to grab a lot of the 50-50 loose balls; however, they were not consistently able to capitalize on these extra possessions. Howard finally made its first three-point field goal when Gillus broke a 39-39 tie at the 11:30 mark of the second half.

Hampton earned itself a slight lead when Michael Eley scored on a fast break dunk to take a 44-43 lead with 7:32 left in regulation. Howard answered with a three-point field goal by Cedric Taylor III. Howard clamped down on defense during the closing minutes of the game until Harris made two critical layups in the final minutes. Hampton did not give up, creating turnovers as they cut the deficit to two before the sequence.

Howard had the advantage in points in the paint, 32-22; however, Hampton had 11 second-chance points to Howard’s one.

Gillus finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and five steals.  Harris had 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Taylor added 10 for the Bison.

Gaines-Wyatt led all scorers with 20 points, going 5-for-9 on three-point attempts. Christian Watson added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates and went 13-for-14 on free throws.

Howard will play at Drexel on Tuesday afternoon, while Hampton will play host to Jackson State on Thursday night.