CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Howard freshman Shy Odom made his home debut a memorable one, scoring a career-high 18 points to lead the Bison to a 66-54 win over Harvard.
It marked the first time that the Bison (6-8) have defeated the Crimson in seven games.
Odom, a 6-6 forward from nearby Chestnut Hills, Mass., got Howard going, tallying 15 points in the first 20 minutes that resulted in 30-30 tie at intermission.
For the game, the talented freshman, who is coming on strong of late, connected on 8-of-12 from the floor while adding two steals on defense.
From there, the tone was set as the Bison parlayed some outstanding defense, along with the timely scoring of graduate guard Jelani Williams (13 points and seven rebounds), junior forward Jordan Wood (13 points and seven rebounds), sophomore guard Elijah Hawkins (nine points, seven rebounds and five assists) and solid rebounding from Steve Settle, III opened a 53-44 lead at the 7:19 mark.
Although Harvard (7-4) cut the deficit to three twice, each time the Bison would get baskets from Wood, Williams and later Hawkins.
Defensively, Howard held the Crimson to 3-of-26, including 0-of-11 in the second half, from beyond the arc.
Settle, who came in the game as the team-leading scorer, finished with only five points, but his rebounding on the defensive glass was vital as he led all players with 10.
Courtesy: Howard Athletics
