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The Bison face a formidable opponent in Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, which spent time at No. 1 in the AP poll this season.
DAYTON, Ohio — Bryce Harris had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and he sank a turnaround jumper with 13 seconds remaining that sent Howard to its first NCAA Tournament victory in program history, 86-83 over UMBC in the First Four on Tuesday night. Ose Okojie scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Bison (24-10), who entered with an 0-4 record in March Madness and had to hold off a late rally by the Retrievers (24-9). “We’ve done a lot of things in our program, but let’s check off the box of winning an NCAA game today,” Howard coach Kenneth Blakeney said.
DJ Armstrong Jr. ‘s 3-pointer with 43 seconds left got UMBC within 83-81. After Harris’ jumper as the shot clock expired gave Howard a four-point lead, Jah’Likah King made a layup to make it 85-83.
Isaiah Brown made one of two free throws and Armstrong couldn’t convert a 3 at the buzzer, sealing a trip to Buffalo, New York, for the Bison, who enter the Midwest Region bracket as the No. 16 seed and will face top-seeded Michigan on Thursday. “Run, clock, run,” Blakeney said of his thoughts in the final moments.
“We went from, I want to say, a three-possession game to a two-possession game to a one-possession game. ” Blakeney also led Howard, one of the country’s premier historically Black universities, to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and ’24. UMBC was seeking its first March Madness win since it shocked top overall seed Virginia in 2018, becoming the first No.