Williams scores 24, Howard Men’s Basketball squad advances in MEAC Tournament
By The Sports Pulse Staff
NORFOLK, Va. — Charles “C.J.” Williams led No. 10 Howard in scoring with 24 points to a first-round upset over South Carolina State, 70-63, in the first round of the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament at Scope Arena.
Sixteen of Williams’ 24 points came in the second half.
The Bison (4-28) advanced to tonight’s quarterfinal, where they will face No. 2 seed North Carolina A&T State at 8 p.m.
Howard led throughout after Williams hit the first basket of the game – a three at the 18:41 mark in the first half. In fact, the Bison scored the first 10 points of the game.
However, Howard maintained control and had a seven point lead heading to intermission. The Bison held the Bulldogs to 25% shooting (8-for-32) in the first 20 minutes, while Howard shot 48.0 percent (12-for-25) in the opening half.
South Carolina State scored 41 points and shot 42.9% from the floor, but the Bulldogs struggled from distance all night – to the tune of 2-for-12 from behind the arc.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to one, 39-38, with 13:32 left to play after an Ian Kinard layup, but the Bison answered with a 17-3 run to put the game out of reach.
Kyle Foster came off the bench to add 18 points, while Zion Cousins pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds.
Applewhite led the Bulldogs (11-18) with 22 points.
