James Miller scored 24 points and blocked Morgan State’s potential tying layup with 20 seconds left as Howard beat the Bears 70-67 on Monday night to snap a six-game skid and win its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference home game this season.
Charles Williams added 15 points and a career-high four steals while Damon Collins scored 11 with five assists and three steals for Howard (6-20, 3-8).
Tiwian Kendley scored six points in 75 seconds to pull Morgan State within one with 1:10 left. After Miller hit a free throw, Kendley took the inbound pass coast-to-coast but his runner from the left side of the lane was blocked and rebounded by Miller, who hit 1 of 2 foul shots to make it 68-65 with 19 seconds to play. Kyle Thomas’ offensive rebound and dunk 10 seconds later pulled Morgan State within one, but Kofi Andoh hit two free throws with three seconds remaining to seal it.
Phillip Carr’s jumper with 12:16 left gave Morgan State (10-14, 7-4) a 53-45 lead, but the Bears missed 10 of their next 11 field-goal attempts, made just 2 of 7 free throws and committed seven turnovers during a decisive 16-4 Howard run over the next nine-plus minutes. The Bison made 9 of 10 foul shots as Miller scored nine points and Mangham added five, including a 3-point play that made it 61-57 with 3:26 to go, to take the lead for good.
Gillespie and Carr scored 15 apiece for the Bears.
The Bears will host Savannah State Saturday, Feb. 18 4 p.m. at Hill Field House.
