Williams Leads Howard to First-Round Upset Over S.C. State

NORFOLK, Va., March 10, 2020—With 24 points, Charles “C.J.” Williams led Howard, the No. 10 seed, to a first-round upset over South Carolina State, 70-63, in the first round of the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament Tuesday evening in Scope Arena.

Sixteen of Williams’ 24 points came in the second half.

The Bison (4-28) advanced to Wednesday’s quarterfinal, where they will face No. 2 seed North Carolina A&T State at 8 p.m.

Howard led throughout after Williams hit the first basket of the game – a three at the 18:41 mark in the first half. In fact, the Bison scored the first 10 points of the game, before Damani Applewhite got the Bulldogs on the board at the 15:20 mark.

But Howard maintained control, heading into the locker room with a 29-22 lead. The Bison held the Bulldogs to 25% shooting (8-for-32) in the first 20 minutes, while Howard shot 48.0 percent (12-for-25) in the opening half.

South Carolina State was better from the floor in the second half, scoring 41 points and shooting 42.9% from the floor, but the Bulldogs struggled from distance all night – to the tune of 2-for-12 from behind the arc.

The Bulldogs cut the lead to one, 39-38, with 13:32 left to play after an Ian Kinard layup, but the Bison answered with a 17-3 run to put the game out of reach.

Kyle Foster came off the bench to add 18 points, while Zion Cousins pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds.

Applewhite led the Bulldogs (11-18) with 22 points.