By Ed Hill, Jr.
BALTIMORE – Freshman guard Blake Harper (Washington) scored a career-high 20 points to lead four Bison in double figures, but a 12-0 run to end the game proved to be the difference as the Howard University men’s basketball team fell, 95-77, to the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) in the UMBC Challenge at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
It was the second straight loss for the Bison.
A 6-foot-5 freshman guard out of Gonzaga College H.S., in D.C., Harper connected on 7-of-14 from the field to lead Howard (3-4).
The two teams played neck-and-neck for most of the game that featured 12 lead changes and nine ties. The Bison had a five-point lead late until the Retrievers’ run that closed the game.
UMBC (4-4) did it by parlaying its bench, mainly Bryce Johnson (game-high 28 points) and Marcus Banks, who combined for 45 of their team’s points.
The Retrievers held a whopping 53-29 advantage on bench points while also connecting on 12-of-24 (50-percent) from beyond the arc.
Harper got support from senior guard Marcus Dockery (Washington) with 14 points, including 4-of-7 from downtown. Juniors Dom Campbell (Scarborough, Maine) and Ose Okojie (Brampton, Canada) each tallied 11 points off the bench. The 11 points for Okojie was a career-high, along with his team-high six rebounds.
It is important to note that Howard played the majority of the game without the services of MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Preseason Player of the Year senior guard Bryce Harris (Brentwood, N.Y.), who suffered an apparent foot injury in the first three minutes and did not return.
NEXT UP: Howard hosts Mount St. Mary’s Saturday (Nov. 30) at 2 p.m., inside Burr Gymnasium.
Source: Howard Bison Athletics/HUBison.com