Milwaukee, WI—The Howard University men's basketball team followed the pattern from its opener at the University of Michigan by jumping out to the early lead, then settling in to a toe to toe battle before succumbing to a late run that closed out the first half to put the game away as Marquette pulled away to an 81-49 win over the Bison in the 2K Classic for Wounded Soldiers. 

James "JT" Miller, Damon Collins and Solomon "Solo" Mangham combined to carry the offensive load for Howard, which was able to stay within striking distance after twice falling behind by 10. With Mangham and Dalique Mingo getting key baskets during the Golden Eagles' runs, the Bison cut the deficit to 26-20 at the 4-minute mark of the first half. 

From there, Marquette (2-0) took control with an 8-2 run that gave the hosts a 34-23 lead at intermission. Howard scored the first basket of the second half, but Marquette went on a 12-0 run that expanded the lead to 44-25. 

The Golden Eagles got balanced as five players scored in double figures, but Howard would aid and abet the cause by missing several point blank shots that would have kept the game close. 

In the pre-game, Howard head coach Kevin Nickelberry indicated that he would tweet the lineup with some changes. He did as Kofi Andoh, Cameron Lewis, Charles Williams and Dalique Mingo all got extended playing time. 

Still the Bison were unable to get any consistent scoring. They shot 28 percent from the field and again had problems at the free throw line, missing 10.Mangham led all scorers with 15 but no other Bison reached double figures. Miller ended up with 8 and Charles Williams and Mingo had 7 each. 

Marquette was led by Katin Reinhardt and Jajuan Johnson with 14, Hanif Cheatham and Maekus Howard with 12 and Sam Hauser with 10 in the balance attack. 

NEXT UP: Howard travels to Indianapolis, IN to take on IUPUI on Friday at 2 pm in the next round of the 2K Classic.