Daniel Leads Howard Bison Balanced Attack in Win Over UMBC

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- James"J-Byrd" Daniel, III poured in a game-high 28 points to lead five players in double figures as Howard University defeated the University of Maryland Baltimore County in a 103-93 shootout at Burr Gymnasium.

Playing without two of its starters and some key reserves, the Bison (7-5) rode the scoring of Daniel and Tyler Stone (16 points) who combined for 33 first-half points as Howard led 42-35 at intermission. It must be noted that Stone, normally a forward, was playing in place of starting center Marcel Boyd, who is out for three weeks with a fractured finger. Boyd leads the team in rebounding and averages close to a double-double on the season.

The two teams went back and forth in the second half, exchanging runs. The Retrievers (4-9) embarked on a 12-4 run to start the second half, led by Jarius Lyles, who poured in 17 of his team-high 27 and Will Darley who added 14 of his 21 before fouling out. A three pointer by Joe Sherburn gave the visitors a 47-46 lead at the 14:46 mark.

The Bison responded with a 24-11 push that gave them a 70-57 advantage at the 11:17 mark. The run was fueled by Collins and Dalique Mingo who scored all of his 14 points in the second stanza. It was Collins' first action since coming up with a stomach virus after the Purdue game.

"I saw that I put up only three shots in the first half, so I felt I had to be more aggressive in the second half," said Collins, who was 5-of-8 from the field after intermission and 7-of-9 from the free throw line. "Also, they started to double J-Byrd near the end of the first half so I used ball screens and I got out in transition. That gave me some better looks and I was able to take advantage of it."

But UMBC was not finished as it reeled off a 25-14 spurt that got the score to within 84-82 at the 3:15 mark of the second half. That is when Daniel, Collins, Mangham and Mingo closed the door. Combining for all 19 of their team's points, the Bison closed with a 19-11 run that put the game away.

"I take my hat off to the coaches," praised Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "Being shorthanded, we put in several defenses in practice and they were all effective when we needed them to establish or change tempo. I thought the players were locked in well. J-Byrd was especially effective for us keeping the right tempo that we wanted against UMBC."

Added Daniel. "We stuck to our defensive principles and made shots down the stretch. My teammates and the coaching staff believe in me and my decisions. The key though was how our reserves, Dalique and Solo stepped up big for us. They made some shots and got rebounds when I missed."

Daniel, the nation's leading scorer at 29.4 points added five assists and four steals to his stats while Mangham (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Mingo (14 points, career-high 10 rebounds) posted double-doubles. Stone finished with 18.

The Retrievers got 27 and 10 rebounds from Lyles, who played locally at DeMatha High School (Hyattsville, MD) , 21 from Will Darley, 16 from Sherburne and 13 and 12, respectively from Rodney Elliott and Jourdan Grant.

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