Washington, DC (Jan. 12, 2015) --- Amere May hit a driving lay-up with 11 seconds left for the go-ahead basket and hit two free throws with less than a second remaining to lift Delaware State to a 79-76 win over Howard at Burr Gymnasium this evening.

The Hornets improved to 7-9 overall and 1-1 in the MEAC, while the Bison fell to 8-10 and 2-2.  

There were six lead changes and two ties in the final 3:01 of the contest.

Howard took its last lead. 76-75, on a three-point play by James Daniels with 18 seconds left in the game.    

After a Delaware State timeout, the Hornets regained the lead, 77-76, on May's basket. On the ensuing possession, Howard's Marcel Boyd was fouled by DSU's Kendall Gray with three seconds remaining; but Boyd missed two free throws to keep the Hornets in front.

May connected on two free throws after being fouled with 0.3 seconds left to close out the scoring.  

Delaware State led 36-34 at the half, but the Bison got off to a fast start in the second half to open up a 50-42 lead.

Freshman Todd Hughes played a major role in the DSU victory. Hughes came off the bench to tally a career-high 25 points.  He was nine-for-14 from the field, including four-of-five from three-point territory. His four three-pointers also marked a career-high.
 Todd Hughes

Hughes knocked down a three-pointer and hit a free throw to highlight the Hornets' 12-2 second half run to get back into the game. May capped the rally with a lay-up to give DSU a 54-52lead at the 10:36 mark of the second half.

The lead changed hands five times and there were four ties over the next seven minutes of play.

Howard got off to a fast start in the contest, opening up a 10-0 lead on a basket by James Carlton with 15:40 left in the first half.

The Hornets cut the Bison lead to 10-3 on their first basket of the game, a three-pointer by Hughes, with 14:50 remaining in the half.

Delaware State trailed 27-18 before outscoring the Bison 18-7 in the rest of the half to hold a 36-34 at the break.  

May added 17 points, while Gray notched his fourth straight double-double and 10^th of the season with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Gray has 40 rebounds in the last two games.  He was tops in the MEAC and fifth in the nation in rebounds per game; and second in the league (11^th in NCAA) in double-doubles entering the contest.

Carlton was Howard's leading scorer with a game-high 27 points, while teammate James Miller added 24. Miller's performance was highlighted by four three-point field goals. Daniels had 15 points on four-of-15 shooting from the field (one-for-nine on three-point shots) for the Bison. Daniels, the preseason MEAC Player-of-the-Year, was averaging 17.4 points per game entering the contest.    

Delaware State was 29-for-64 from the field in contest (45.3%), including seven-of-21 from beyond the arc (33.3%).

Howard shot 49.1% from the floor (26-for-53), including 36.8% on three-point shots (seven-for-19).
The Hornets won the rebound battle 37-34, and had fewer turnovers (7-10).

The Hornets begin a two-game MEAC home stand this Saturday (Jan. 17) against South Carolina State. Game time is 4 p.m. in Memorial Hall. The home stand concludes with a visit by Savannah State for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Monday (Jan. 19).

STINGERS
Hughes' previous career-high was 15 points vs. Baptist Bible in his collegiate debut on Nov. 17 … The Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak to the Bison … Charles Burley came off the bench to dish out a game-high six assists for the Hornets.