The top-seeded Howard Bison used a big second half to race past fourth-seed Maryland Eastern Shore 74-55 on Friday in the semifinals of the MEAC tournament.
The Bison (21-12) and earn a spot in Saturday’s championship game, which will be televised live on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. The Bison will meet the winner of Friday’s second semifinal contest between North Carolina Central and two-time defending champion Norfolk State.
Howard will be in search of its first tournament title since 1992.
Steve Settle and Shy Odom, the MEAC Rookie of the Year, both had 16 points to lead the Bison. Marcus Dockery contributed 10 points in the win, and Odom also grabbed 10 rebounds and Settle eight to lead head coach Kenneth Blakeney’s team.
Howard enjoyed a 46-32 edge on the glass.
The Hawks, who finished the campaign18-13, had no players in double figures but got nine points each from Chace Davis and Kevon Voyles in the loss. Zion Styles had seven points and Nathaniel Pollard, Ahamadou Fofana and Da’Shawn Phillip finished with six points each.
Pollard led UMES on the boards with nine.
The Bison, who trailed early on by as many as six points, 19-13, after two Phillip free throws with 7:35 left in the first half, battled back to take a 26-22 lead to the locker room.
Howard scored 14 of the first 20 points of the second half to take a 42-28 lead with 11:58 to play. The Hawks closed the gap to 43-36 on two free throws by Troy Hupstead with 10:21 on the clock but a 16-2 Howard spree put the regular-season champions up 59-38 with just under nine minutes left and UMES could come no closer than 15 points, 59-44, with 4:45 left.
Howard, which was relentless on the boards and used a power inside game that produced 34 points in the paint, closed the contest on a 15-11 run for the final margin.
The Hawks raced out to a 7-2 lead with 17:32 left in the opening half before Howard rallied to go ahead 21-19 on a 3-pointer by Dockery at the 2:47 mark of the period. Elijah Hawkins, who finished with six assists, got a drive for a 23-19 Bison advantage. Odom had a chance to build on the Howard lead but missed the front end of a 1-1 opportunity with just under two minutes left in the half.
Courtesy: MEAC
