EL PASO, Texas – Freshman RJ Cole and sophomore Charles Williams combined for 72 points and propelled the Howard University Men's Basketball team over UNC-Wilmington (UNCW), 80-75, at the Weststar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. As a result, HU placed third in the historic tournament."The young freshman [RJ Cole] and [Charles] Williams took over the game with a lot of help," said Kevin Nickelberry, Howard Men's Basketball head coach. "[There's] a lot of things that don't show up in the box score. We did a lot of screens to get them open. The extra rebound by Jalen Jones and free throws down the stretch were key."
Cole produced with a new career-high 42 points, including 32 after intermission. His 42 points set a new freshman record in program history. The New Jersey native shot 59-percent (13-of-22) from the floor, including 5-of-8 from long range. He also added six boards, four dimes, and four steals in the win.
Williams tied a season-high 30 points after shooting 11-of-19 from the field, including a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown, in the victory.
"These are two special guards," Nickelberry stated. "They both do a lot of different things. They're getting better and use to each other. They're learning to become a tandem and that's going to be scary down the road."
Overall, the Bison shot a season-best 50-percent (26-of-52) against the defending Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Champions, including 56-percent (9-of-16) from beyond the arc.
UNCW's Ty Taylor made two freebies and gave the Seahawks their largest lead of the game, 50-39, with 16:16 remaining. For the next 10 minutes, HU trimmed the deficit down to single-digits and kept themselves in striking distance.
With under five minutes left, Cole drilled a long ball and cut the margin down one, 70-69. A minute later, Cole made a jumper and gave Howard their first lead of the game with 3:07 remaining, 71-70.
UNC-Wilmington regained the lead with more than two minutes left, 74-72, but Williams connected on a jumper and tied the contest at 74.
With less than 90 seconds remaining, a steal and layup from Cole put HU ahead for good. Cole and fellow classmate Zion Cousins made clutch free throws down the stretch to give Howard the victory.
Cousins had a team-high seven boards in the victory.
Williams made a jumper and tied the game with 14:26 left before halftime, 10-10. UNCW regained the advantage and extended its lead as much as 10 with more than three minutes remaining in the period, 36-26.
Williams kept HU in the game, scoring 18 of his 30 points in the first half. UNC-Wilmington took an eight-point advantage at the break, 40-32.
"All year, we've been telling the guys to trust the process," Nickelberry continued. "We were down, and we challenged them. My gut was telling me to go into a zone, but for us to win, we need to play man-to-man. RJ Cole said, 'let's go man' and we went man. Tonight, they trusted the process."
For UNCW (2-9), they shot a respectable 44-percent (27-of-61) from the floor. Devontae Cacok recorded a double-double, posting 19 points and 17 rebounds. Taylor chipped in 14 points in a losing effort.
On Dec. 30, HU concludes its nonconference schedule with a road contest at Hawaii. Tipoff is slated for midnight (ET) / 7 p.m. (HT).
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.
BOX SCORE
HOWARD UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
No comments:
Post a Comment