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BY JOE ZIGTEMA
Sports Editor The latter moments of Thursday’s game at Dorothy Garrett Coliseum looked more like a football pile than a basketball play.
Carlos Emory shoots Thursday against South Plains. Emory scored only four points but grabbed a game-sealing rebound. --Herald Photo/Joe Zigtema
There were 13 seconds left on the clock, and South Plains had the ball down 61-60 with a chance to score. Tramar Sutherland’s 18-footer clanked off the iron and fell off the basket just to the left of the paint, where eight players dove on the floor like linebackers chasing a loose fumble. When the dust settled, Howard freshman Carlos Emory had come up with the tied ball, the possession arrow went to the Hawks with two seconds left on the game clock and Howard preserved its fourth straight WJCAC win and its 20th overall. The game was a physical, slug-it-out affair that turned sloppy at times but was close the whole way and came down to a thrilling finish. Howard never led by more than five points, and none were scored over the last 2:11. “Before the game the officials said they were going to let them play, and I think that was to (South Plains’) advantage,” head coach Mark Adams said. “I give a lot of credit to our guys for hanging in. We had a lot of chances to quit, we got frustrated, calls didn’t go our way and we could have just dropped our guard ... but this team battles and they know how to win.” Jae Crowder led the way for the Hawks with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Moses Sundufu scored 15 big points for Howard, 11 of which were in the first half when the Hawks shot under 40 percent from the floor. Sundufu was 3-of-5 from the 3-point line in the first 20 minutes. “Jae gave us some key buckets and Moses kept us in the game the first half,” Adams said. “Anytime you can win a close ball game it gives you confidence the next time you play, and it makes your team focus in possession by possession. We had to do that and I’m sure that’s the way South Plains wanted it to be. In the long run, it’s going to help us become a better team.” After a game against Frank Phillips in which Howard couldn’t seem to miss from the floor, the Hawks couldn’t seem to put the ball in the basket with any regularity in the first half. Instead, Howard had to rely on its No. 1 scoring defense to hold South Plains to 29 points, even though the Texans shot almost 60 percent in the first half. And when the game came down to the wire, it was Howard’s defense that prevailed time and again. “We made a lot of individual mistakes, but our team defense and overall team play won us the game,” Adams said. The Hawks opened the second half on a 6-0 run that gave them their largest lead of the ball game. But every time Howard threatened to pull away, South Plains came up with a bucket to close the margin. Bo Ingram led the Texans with 16 points before fouling out with 2:11 to go. After his departure, South Plains would not score another point. Tramar Sutherland scored 15 as the only other Texan in double figures. Howard will look to continue its roll as the team plays New Mexico JC on Monday.
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