By Bert Leeson

Bison seek first NCAA Tournament victory in program history

WASHINGTON (March 18, 2024) – Howard University men’s basketball team looks to keep its season alive when they face Wagner College (WC) in the NCAA First Four. Tipoff is slated for 6:40 p.m. (ET), live on TruTV.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

The winner will advance to the next round against No 1 seed University of North Carolina (UNC).  Howard seeks its first NCAA Tournament victory.

MATCHUP PREVIEW

SERIES RECORD

The two teams met in 1997-98 and Wagner came away with a 79-54 win.

HOWARD

The Bison (18-16, 9-5 MEAC), the No. 4 seed in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament, knocked off No. 5 seed Morgan State, No. 1 seed Norfolk State in the semifinals and No. 6 Delaware State, 70-67, in the tournament final.

Howard is led by all-conference selection, junior guard Bryce Harris (16.6 ppg, team-leading 55-percent from the floor, 37 total blocks, 36 total steals, 40-percent from three & 30 double-doubles).

All-MEAC selection graduate forward Seth Towns (14.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 65 made three-pointers, 84-percent from the free throw line, 30 total steals & 13 total blocks).

All-MEAC honoree junior guard Marcus Dockery (13.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, career-high 61 total assists, 82-percent from throw line, team-leading 93 three-pointers made & 41-percent from three-point).

Graduate guard Isaiah Warfield (7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, team-leading 89-percent from the free throw line).

WAGNER

Wagner (16-15, 7-9 NEC), a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) reached the Big Dance by virtue of winning the tournament with wins over the No. 2 seed Merrimack in OT, the No. 3 seed Sacred Heart and the No. 1 seed Central Connecticut State.

The Seahawks are a guard-oriented team comprised of junior Melvin Council, Jr (14.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 43 total steals, 18 total blocks, 78-percent from the free throw line & 106 total assists [second on the team]).

Junior guard Tahron Allen (10.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 47-percent from three-point).

Sophomore guard Julian Brown (9.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, team-leading 59 made three-pointers made, 34-percent from three-point land).

Junior guard Javier Ezquerra (7.1 ppg, team-leading 113 total assists & 42 total steals).

BISON NOTES

• It is the fifth-ever conference tournament win in Howard’s history and the program’s fourth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. It is only the second time that Howard has won back-to-back titles (1980 & 1981).
• Harris started all 34 games and averaged 33 minutes per game. He posted career highs in all categories: career-high 28 points vs. Morgan State; team-high 79 dunks; 16 rebounds vs. Coppin State; four blocks vs. North Carolina Central; eight double doubles; scored in double figures in all but 4 games; 10-of-10 from the floor vs. Mount Saint Mary’s.
• Dockery led the conference in both three-point shooting (41-percent) and three pointers made per game (2.8). He had at least one three-pointer in all but three games.  Dockery averaged 32 minutes a game.
• Graduate Jordan Hairston (Fairfax, Va.) is one of the main reasons for Howard’s surge of seven wins in the last eight games of the season. After averaging 2.2 points per game during the first 25 games, the sharpshooting guard averages almost 15 points in the in the last eight games, including a sizzling 24-of-47 from the field and 19-of-43 from beyond the arc. He was named the Tournament MVP.
• Howard has had 13 different starting lineups. Howard played much of the season and the entire tournament without the services of sophomore forwards Shy Odom (8.7 ppg & 3.5 rpg) and Dom Campbell (7.9 ppg & 4.4 rpg). Odom, the preseason MEAC Player of the Year, missed 15 games and Campbell missed nine contests, both due to a combination of injuries.
• Howard senior guard Thomas Weaver (Upper Marlboro, Md.) is the son of Detroit Pistons General Manager Troy Weaver. Sophomore forward Miles Stewart (Orlando, Fla.) is the son of Yogi Stewart, former standout at Cal Berkeley and a four-year NBA veteran. Freedom Rhames (Los Angeles), a sophomore guard, is the son of actor Ving Rhames.

For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.

COURTESY HOWARD ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS