Washington Informer

Howard University Men 59, Florida A&M 50

Washington, DC—February 19---Howard University was able to offset serious foul trouble with some good solid free throw shooting in the second half and pull away to a 59-50 win over Florida A&M University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s game at Burr Gymnasium.

The Bison (6-20 overall, 4-9 in the MEAC), who have been undermanned all season, came into the game with nine players in uniform, two of which are walk-ons. The starting five, which has been logging an average of 36 minutes per game through most of the season, was put to the test when three of them were saddled with three fouls in the first 20 minutes.

Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry went to his short bench early and often in an attempt to offset the disadvantage. The Bison got 10 points from sophomore guard Anton Dickerson and 6 from freshman center Alphonso Leary in the first half before they were forced to go to the bench. The Rattlers (11-16 overall, 6-7 in the MEAC) held a 30-27 lead at the half on the strength of Amin Stevens, who tallied 14 of his game-high 22 points.

Sophomore forward Mike Phillips, the team’s leading scorer (13.7) and rebounder (7.3) who was recovering from an ankle injury that he suffered in the Norfolk State game on Monday, came off the bench for the first time this season and was rendered ineffective in the first half with only two free throws.

But the 6-7 sophomore, one of the most improved players in the conference, came alive in the first minutes of the second half by drawing fouls from the Florida A&M frontcourt with power moves and post-ups down low.

His play seemed to inspire the team as senior guard Kyle Riley,sophomore forward Dadrian Collins and sophomore reserve Gary Lawrence got into the act. It resulted in the Bison going to the line 33 times and making good on 22 from the charity stripe. That is how Howard began to build on its lead.

“This was a huge win for us,” said Nickelberry, in his first year as head coach with the Bison. “When you have five starters who average a lot of minutes and four of them get into foul trouble, someone has to step up. I thought Gary Lawrence and Chuck (Charles DeCosta) made some positive plays for us. And I can’t say enough about the leadership of Kyle Riley and how he was able to hold us together.”

Riley, Phillips, Collins and Lawrence, combined to score 21 points from the free throw line in the second half, including 10 of 14 in the last three minutes.

“Free throw shooting was obviously the difference in the game,” said Nickleberry. “Kyle, Mike and Gary all stepped up big time for us.”

It was a tale of two halves for Florida A&M, which shot 53 percent from the field (9 of 17) in the first half, but missed 18 of 23 in the second stanza, including a frigid 1 for 12 from beyond the arc.

“I personally like to go up and down,” explained Nickelberry of his preference on style of play. “But with our situation we had to make some adjustments. The strategy was to slow them down by using a trapping defense and force them to run their offense. The guys did a good job of scrapping and playing good defense.”

Collins led the Bison with 13 points, Collins with 11, and Phillips, Riley and Lawrence with eight each.

“We played like a team and stayed active on defense,” said Riley, the team’s only senior. “The free throws were obviously huge. We needed extra points. We missed some shots, but the free throws made up for that.”

Stevens led all scorers with 22 but no other Florida A&M player reached double figures.

The Rattlers, who have yet to win a conference on the road this season, travel to Hampton, VA to take on the Pirates of Hampton University on Monday at 8 pm while the Bison will try to extend their current four-game home conference win streak alive when they host Bethune-Cookman University on Monday at 8 pm.

“We have three games remaining in the regular season,” said Nickelberry. “We have to do well before the Hampton game (March 3 at home) so that we can go out with a big bang headed into the MEAC Tournament.”

The Washington Wizards may be in the midst of a disappointing season; however, two stars of the team – rookie John Wall and JaVale McGee – were a prominent part of the NBA All-Star festivities that took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., over the weekend.
With stars of the sports and entertainment world in attendance, both men would step to the occasion on a national stage and leave fans with an indelible impression of their performances.

John Wall, who has had a fairly strong season as a Wizard so far, was named Most Valuable Player during the Rookie Challenge – an exhibition game where the top NBA rookies faced their sophomore counterparts – on Fri., Feb. 18.

During the event, Wall would show basketball fans why the Wizards made him their first pick in the Player Draft last season. He would score 12 points; have 22 assists – a game record – and show off his athleticism with an array of amazing passes, flair and a memorable dunk in a 148-140 win over the sophomore team.
Wall, 20, would use his passing skills and setup his teammates – which included the electrifying Blake Griffin and former University of Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins, who scored 33 points – for shot after shot.

With little defense actually being played, it gave the players a chance to show off their skills on the court and simply have pure, unadulterated fun.
Wall would also take part in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge on Saturday night where he was the only rookie to participate. Facing established stars such as Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry, Wall would finish fourth; meanwhile, Curry would take the event.

The second member of the Wizards to make his mark on the weekend, JaVale McGee, did so after Wall’s performance. He would take part in the Slam Sunk Challenge and would put on quite a show; however, Blake Griffin won the contest.

Griffin would win it all with a 68 percent vote thanks to a memorable display of theatrics and showmanship. He would win it all as he dunked over a Kia Optima in the final round – accompanied by a choir that belted out R-Kelly’s hit, “I Believe I Can Fly”, and NBA veteran Kenny Smith as an emcee. His teammate Baron Davis – who was behind the wheel of the vehicle -- lobbed the basketball through a sunroof for Griffin to receive.

While Griffin ended the night with glory, McGee showed the world his ability as a high-flyer as he entertained the crowd with his own amazing feats. McGee’s dunk in the first round was perhaps the most-memorable as he dunked balls into two baskets at the same time.

The amazing dunk had two basketball rims side by one side – one on a forklift, the other with a stationary setup. After several attempts, McGee was able to put both balls through both basket rims with a single leap. That enabled him to get a perfect score of 50 – the only one of the evening.

McGee would give the crowd two other dunks – including one that involved three balls, and the final with the help of Wall – but didn’t impress the crowd nearly as much as Griffin’s.