image via Howard Athletics
Courtesy of Ed Hill, Jr., retired Howard Sports Information Director
Howard University men’s basketball team embarks on a four-game road trip, beginning Saturday (Feb. 22) at Beltway rival Morgan State (MSU). Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m., inside the Hill Fieldhouse in Baltimore.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Bison Nation can follow all the action via live stats and/or ESPN+.
GAME 27
EVENT: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) showdown
PARTICIPANTS: Howard (Bison) at Morgan State (Bears)
DATE: February 22, 2025
TIME: 4 p.m.
LOCATION: Hill Fieldhouse in Baltimore
LAST TIMEOUT
HOWARD
Monday (Feb. 17), freshman guard Blake Harper (Washington) poured in a game-high 34 points while fellow D.C. native Marcus Dockery added 15 points as the Bison rolled to an 86-62 win over Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) at Burr Gymnasium.
MORGAN STATE
Morgan State (11-14, 5-4 MEAC) defeated North Carolina Central (NCCU), 92-78, on the road Monday (Feb. 17). Kameron Hobbs led the way with 24 points, eight dimes and seven assists and Will Thomas added 23 points for the Bears, who placed four players in double figures.
LAST TIME THE TWO MET
On Jan. 11, Dockery scored 15 of his game-high 25 points and fellow D.C. native graduate guard Anwar Gill added 12 of his 14 points in the second stanza as the Bison outlasted Morgan State, 100-95, at Burr Gymnasium.
For the Bears, Hobbs and Thomas each tallied 24 points while Ahmarie Simpkins added 20 points.
SERIES RECORD
In the last meeting, Howard defeated Morgan State, 100-96, in a shootout at Burr Gymnasium (January 11, 2025) for its third straight win over its Beltway rival. The Bears last win came on January 27, 2024, in Baltimore. Howard holds a slim, 14-12, advantage since the 2005-06 season.
THE COACHES
Howard is coached by Kenneth Blakeney (Duke, ’95) who is in his sixth season and has led the Bison to two straight MEAC tournament titles and NCAA appearances. Morgan State is led by Kevin Broadus (Bowie State, ‘90), who is in his fifth year at the helm.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
HOWARD PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
14 Ayodele Taiwo 2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 27 blocked shots & 58-percent FG%
1 Anwar Gill 8.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, team-leading 96 assists & 27 steals
5 Marcus Dockery 17.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 68 3FGM & 42-percent 3FG%
7 Blake Harper 19.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 93 assists & 46-percent FG%
15 Cameron Shockley-Okeke 11.3 rpg, 2.9 rpg, 60 3FGM & 40-percent 3FG%
HOWARD KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
8 Joshua Strong 6.0 rpg, 2.0 rpg, 41-percent 3FG% & 79-percent FT%
21 Calvin Robins Jr. 3.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg & 62-percent FG%
MORGAN STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
0 Kameron Hobbs 15.1 ppg, 45-percent 3FG%, 84-percent FT% & 63 assists
10 Will Thomas 14.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg & team-leading 46-percent FG%
14 Kiran Oliver 5.6 ppg & 3.0 rpg
3 Rob Lawson 7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg & team-high 61 assists
5 Kiran Oliver 5.6 ppg & 3.0 rpg
MORGAN STATE KEY RESERVES
No. Name 2024-25 Stats
12 Daniel Akitoby 8.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 60-percent FG% & 24 blocks
13 Trent Edwards 3.7 ppg & 2.6 rpg
9 Jaden Martin 3.4 ppg & 3.2 rpg
MEAC STATS
HOWARD
The Bison lead the MEAC in three-point shooting (40-percent), three pointers made per game (8.6) and assists (16.8).
Individually, Harper leads the conference in scoring (19.9), second in rebounding (6.6), third in minutes played (34.5), fourth in free throw shooting (82-percent) and assists (3.6), fifth in assists/turnover, sixth in field goal shooting (46-percent) and 13th in three pointers made per game…Dockery leads the conference in three-point shooting (42-percent) and three pointers made (2.6), second in minutes played (34.5) and fourth field goal percentage (51-percent) and scoring (17.2)…graduate forward Cameron Shockley-Okeke (Norwalk, Conn.) is third in three pointers made per game (2.3)…graduate guardJoshua Strong (Minneapolis) is 10th in three pointers made per game…Gill is second in assists (4.0), eighth in assists/turnover ratio and 11th minutes played (30.0)…redshirt junior forward Ayodele Taiwo (Lagos, Nigeria) is third in the MEAC in blocked shots.
MORGAN STATE
Morgan State leads the MEAC in scoring (81.4 ppg) and blocked shots (4.4 per game).
Individually, Hobbs is seventh in field goal percentage (46-percent), ninth in scoring (15.1) and three pointers made…Simpson eighth in blocks and 11th in scoring (13.9)…Thomas is third in free throw shooting (82-percent) and field goal shooting (46-percent)…Trent Edwards is fifth in blocks.
NATIONAL STATS
HOWARD
Howard ranks 11th in three-point shooting percentage (39-percent) and 26th in assists per game (16.80.
Individually, Harper ranks 29th in the country in scoring (19.8)…Harper is third among freshmen in scoring…Harper is one of a few players who have recorded a triple double this season.
MORGAN STATE
Morgan State ranks 29th in the country in scoring (81.4).
GAME NOTES
HOWARD
Harper has established himself as one of the top freshmen in the country, being named MEAC Rookie of the Week for a record-setting 15 times this season while winning MEAC Player of the Week twice this season…Harper is one of a handful of Division I players to have recorded a triple-double this season…Harper has recorded four double-doubles this season while scoring 30 or more points four times, including a career-high 35 points versus UMES (Feb. 1)…Harper has reached double figures in 21 straight games this season…Dockery is quietly having his best all-around season in a Bison uniform, continuing to be the premier long-ball shooter in the conference for the third straight season…Dockery leads the conference in three-point shooting percentage and three-pointers made per game…Dockery has scored in double figures 13 straight games while reaching 20 points seven times this season…Dockery flourished in other areas of his game, including shooting a career-best 51-percent from the field, 42-percent from downtown and 84-percent from the charity stripe…Dockery is scheduled to set a new career high in assists…Dockery, who is a member of the 1,000-point club (1,253 points) , currently ranks third on the school’s all-time list for three-pointers made (236) in a career behind James “J-Bird” Daniel, III (245) Charles “CJ” Williams (248)…Shockley-Okeke has reached double figures in scoring in nine-of-the-last-10 games…The Bison are averaging almost 18 assists per game and limiting opponents to 31-percent shooting from the three-point line…A nemesis for Howard has been the turnover where they are surrendering 18 points a contest off their miscues…Howard has now played with 12 different starting lineups, the most in the past 10 years…The 11 blocked shots by Taiwo versus NCCU (Feb. 1) were the second most in school history behind Grady Livingston, who set the school record with 12 blocks during the 1993-94 season…Taiwo has scored 12 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and blocked 13 shots in the past five games.
BEAR NOTES
Despite the services of Simpkins and Wynston Tabb, the Bears are still putting big numbers…Hobbs and Thomas have taken up the slack, averaging almost 30 points between them…The high-scoring Bears are averaging 81 points per game, ranking them in the Top 30 in the country.
NEXT UP
Howard continues its four-game road swing when it takes on the Eagles of Coppin State Monday (Feb. 24) at 7:30 p.m.
