Following a 71-68 loss in the 2024 NCAA tournament players and coaches amongst the Howard men’s basketball team got the chance to reflect on the season and game.
Howard matched up against Wagner University on March 19, who came in the game with some confidence after winning the Northeast Conference Championship. The teams would trade baskets for the early part of the contest, but the Seahawks were able to sustain a double digit lead late in the half due to them continuing to hit tough timely shots prohibiting the Bison from gaining any rhythm. The score at half time read 38-27 in favor of the Seahawks.
The Bison were down by 13 points with five minutes left in the game when the persistence the team showed through injuries and a tough schedule reared its head for a final time this season. The Bison would go on a 13-2 run to make the score 69-66 with one minute remaining.
After sending the Seahawks to the free throw line multiple times the Bison would get a couple of shots to take the game into overtime but, they weren’t able to cash in. During the post game press conference junior Bryce Harris and grad transfer Seth Towns alongside coach Kenneth Blakeney addressed the loss and the resiliency the team has shown all year long.
Blakeney was pleased with the final play of the game citing “we still were able to get three great looks at the basket, but sometimes the basketball gods are with you and sometimes they’re not.”
With this being Towns third stop after a lengthy college career filled with trials and tribulations he talked about how this season and team has differed from previous years.
“I think we faced more adversity than any team that I’ve ever been a part of this year, with injury in particular,and then not just with injury, but with dropping games that we didn’t expect, and how we had to fight back and come together as a group, it’s a testament to who we’ve been all season. I just couldn’t be more proud of this group.” Towns exclaimed.
Then with Harris being the longest tenured Bison on the roster of this season having been at Howard since 2021 he spoke on what this year has meant for the program on and off the court.
“It comes down to basketball, but also comes down to having connections with who we are, not only as teammates, but human beings,” Harris said. “ Playing on a basketball team is one of the more beautiful things in life because it gives you a group of brothers who have a common goal and it allows you to have a deeper connection past just being a teammate. So what we speak a lot about is having brothers, you know, you wanna have brothers, you’re gonna go through things with your brothers, you’re gonna have good moments, you’re gonna have bad moments, you’re gonna have moments where you’re mad at your brother, your brother’s mad at you, but you guys have to go through the rocky mountain and get over it and especially to reach that common goal. So in a nutshell that is basically what it was, just understanding each other, understanding our whys, why we play the game, who introduced us to the game, what’s carrying us through any type of adversity that we have, whether it’s basketball wise or life in general.”
It was interesting to get a lasting perspective from two players who entered the Howard Men’s Basketball programs at different time periods. Now the team will go back to the Dream Factory to prepare for next season.
(Article featured image of Bryce Harris at post game press conference courtesy of Branson Brooks, from March Madness YouTube)