UMBC Retrievers at Howard Bison

Howard gets its first March Madness win, holding off UMBC 86-83 in the First Four

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. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1. The Retrievers lost in the second round that year and this was the first NCAA Tournament appearance since for the suburban Baltimore school, located 31 miles north of the Howard campus in Washington.

King led UMBC with 19 points, Armstrong had 17 and Caden Diggs scored 15.

Cedric Taylor III scored 16 points for Howard, going 9 of 10 at the free-throw line before fouling out in the final minute.

The Bison led for all but the first 1:21 and took a 13-point lead in the first half. Okojie scored 16 points before halftime, helping the Bison to a 49-41 advantage at the break.

“I said, ‘Guys, this is the worst we’ve played all year,’ for whatever the reason,” UMBC coach Jim Ferry said of his halftime message.

Harris, the MEAC player of the year who averaged 17.4 points, hit his second 3-pointer of the night to give Howard a 61-48 lead early in the second half before UMBC rallied.

“We’ve been in games like this before,” Okojie said. “At this big stage, there’s no time for fear. There's no time for worry.”

Okojie stays disciplined amid foul trouble Okojie picked up his fourth foul with 12:33 left and the Retrievers started putting the squeeze on the Bison, setting up the tense finish.

“My teammates need me,” Okojie said. “So to be solid and play those 12 minutes with not fouling is discipline, truly discipline, and trusting in my abilities.”

Flight delay may have hindered UMBC UMBC's flight to Dayton, originally scheduled for noon on Monday, was delayed more than four hours due to severe weather. The team eventually arrived shortly before 6 p.m.

“I’m not going to blame anything,” Ferry said. “But obviously the day we had (Monday) and not being able to really practice and eat and — I thought it hurt us. We couldn’t move.”

Up next Howard faces a formidable opponent in Michigan, which spent time at No. 1 in the AP poll this season and is expected to contend for the title.

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