WASHINGTON (December 7, 2017) – Coach Kevin Nickelberry and the Howard University Men's Basketball team battled, but came up short against Georgetown (GU), 81-67, inside the Capital One Arena.
 
HU (1-9) shot 47-percent (27-of-58) from the floor, including 44-percent (10-of-23) from downtown; however, GU's size would be the difference as they outrebounded Howard, 41-25, while attempting 15 more free throws.
 
"They're a really big team, we knew that coming in," said Nickelberry. "We fought, but to beat a quality team like Georgetown, you have to put two halves together."
 
Sophomore guard Charles Williams led the Bison, recording a game-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including six trey balls. The Virginia native netted 18 points after intermission.
 
"From the beginning of the game, they were sticking with me," Williams stated. "But in some situations, there were some miscommunications or they trailed me so I had wide open shots."
 
With under 12 minutes remaining, the Hoyas' Jessie Govan gave GU its largest lead of the game, 64-44. In the next three minutes, HU responded with a 13-1 run and trimmed the deficit down to single-digits, 65-57.
 
Howard sliced the margin as low as five after a long ball from Williams with more than four minutes left, 70-65, but Georgetown continue to hit clutch shots to keep HU at bay.
 
Freshman RJ Cole produced 17 points, eight assists, and three boards in 38 minutes of action. Off the bench, junior Cameron Lewis added a season-best 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the loss.
 
GU's Marcus Derrickson made a layup and extend the Hoyas lead to double-digits at the 14:36 mark in the first half, 15-4. HU battled back and cut the deficit down to seven after a jumper from Williams, 27-20.
 
Georgetown answered and took a 19-point advantage with 3:09 remaining before intermission. In the first half, GU was shooting 56-percent (15-of-27) from the floor, including 50-percent (6-of-12) from long range.
 
For Georgetown (7-0), they remain undefeated after shooting 46-percent (27-of-59) from the field. Govan had a double-double, 24 points and 16 boards, while Derrickson and Kaleb Johnson combined for 34 points in the victory.
 
Saturday (Dec. 9), HU stays in the D.C. area where they face American. Game-time is slated for 4 p.m. at Bender Arena.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.