DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY 2015 MEAC TOURNAMENT MEN'S BASKETBALL NOTES
#5 “HORNETS” (16-16; 9-7 MEAC) vs. #4 Howard “Bison” (16-15; 10-6 MEAC)
Thur., Mar. 12, 2015 - 8:00 p.m.
Norfolk, Va. (Scope Arena - 11,000)
Live Video: WATCH ESPN/ESPN3
Live TV: n/a
Live Audio: n/a
Live Video: WatchESPN/ESPN3
Live Stats: MEACHoops.com; DSUHornets.com
Twitter updates: @DSUAthletics
Delaware State Head Coach Keith Walker (Clemson, '81): 21-22 at DSU (1st year, plus 11 games as interim in 2013-14); 112-124 career (9th year); 1-1 vs. SSU; 14-12 MEAC regular season; 1-1 MEAC Tournament
Howard Head Coach Kevin Nickelberry (West Virginia Wesleyan, '86): 47-109 at HU (Fifth year); 130-166 career (Ninth year); 5-9 vs. DSU
THE GAME
Fifth-seeded Delaware State (16-16; 9-7 MEAC regular season) takes on No. 4 Howard in a MEAC Tournament quarterfinal contest. The winner of the game will take on either No. 1 North Carolina Central or No. 9 Coppin State in the semifinals on Fri. at 6 p.m.
The Hornets advanced to the quarterfinals by holding off No. 12 Savannah State in an opening round game on
Monday. DSU's Amere May led all players with 26 points, his ninth straight 20-point game and 22nd in a row in double figures. He has 612 points this season, the fourth player in team history to surpass the 600-point mark in a season. Gray had eight points to surpass the 1000-point mark for his career (1003). He also led all players with 12 rebounds to give him 803 at DSU, becoming the fourth Hornet to reach 1000 points and 800 rebounds in a career.
Tyshawn Bell was second on the Hornets with 14 points, while freshman Todd Hughes came off the bench to add 11 on five-of-five shooting from the field. Delaware State trailed 26-25 at the break, but rallied to build a 44-32 lead after a three-pointer by Aric Dickerson with 13:34 left to play. Savannah State chipped away at the deficit, and pulled to within a point on two occasions in the final minute. The Hornet win was tempered by an ankle injury to starting guard Kendal Williams, who did not return to the game after going down following a basket on his only shot with 17:04 left in the first half. His status for Thursday's quarterfinal is uncertain.
Howard (16-15; 10-6 MEAC regular season) received a first round bye after finishing fourth in the 2014-15 MEAC regular season race. The Bison were picked to finish eighth in the MEAC preseason poll. The Bison are led by All-MEAC First Team forward James Carlton (sr.), who is fifth in the league in scoring (16.3 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (7.9 pg) this season. Sophomore guard James Daniel, an All-MEAC Second Team pick, is fourth in the league in scoring ( 16.4 ppg), 11th in assists (2.7 pg) , first in steals (1.9 pg); and sixth in three-point field goals (2.2 pg).
DSU vs. HOWARD SERIES HISTORY (DSU leads 2-0)
The Hornets and Bison are meeting for the second time this season and 12th time in the MEAC Tournament.
Delaware State won the lone 201-415 regular season meeting contest 79-76 on Jan. 12 at Howard's Burr
Gymnasium. 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 the Hornets to the win. Todd Hughes came off the bench to lead DSU with a career-high 25 points in the regular season contest at Howard. Hughes was nine-for-14 from the field, including four-of-five from three-point territory in the game. James Carlton was high scorer for Howard with 27 points (10-19 FGs), while James Miller added 24.
Howard holds an 8-3 advantage in MEAC Tournament meetings with Delaware State, although the Hornets won the last contest 73-61 in 2013 opening round. This will be the seventh quarterfinal meeting between the teams.
