Delaware State 73, Howard 61
Delaware State led throughout and defeated Howard 73-61 Tuesday in the first round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament at Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
Albert Thomas led the sixth-seeded Hornets (14-17) with 21 points and six assists. Tahj Tate added 14 points, Marques Oliver 13 and Casey Walker 12.
For the 11th-seeded Bison (7-24), Calvin Thompson had 22 points, and Mike Phillips finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Hornets advance to take on third-seeded Hampton on Thursday in a quarterfinal matchup.
Delaware State shot 51 percent from the field (26 of 51), while Howard made 40.4 percent of its shots (21 of 52).
The Hornets led 32-20 at halftime, and the advantage reached as high as 19 points.
The Bison managed to cut their deficit to seven but could get no closer.
Walker and Thomas each had 10 first-half points to lead the Hornets, while Phillips had nine points and four rebounds before the break.
The Hornets, who led by as many as 13 points in the first half, shot 50 percent from the field (12 of 24) prior to intermission, while the Bison shot just 36 percent (8 of 22) and committed 11 turnovers.
Delaware State scored the first nine points of the game over 4 minutes, 24 seconds.
