Howard College Men’s Basketball Overtakes Midland College for Monday Night Road Victory

The Howard College Hawks secured a 91-83 victory over the Midland College Chaps. The win over the Chaps advances the Hawks to 20-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play. Monday night's win is the first win against the Chaps since the 2020-21 season.

In the opening half, the Hawks came out hot, taking a 47-36 lead over the home team. The second half saw the Chaps out-score the Hawks 47-44 but the efforts from the red and black in the first half ultimately outdid the Chaps, ending in a 91-83 total for Howard College. 

"The way we stayed together and kept focus was great last night. We knew they were going to make runs but we handled it just fine. Yesterday we all played for each other. We know when the ball is moving we are very hard to beat'', commented sophomore, Dace Pleasant.

 Pleasant was the leading man for the Hawks with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Pleasant was 7-8 from the field, 3-3 from the three and 2-3 from the line with two assists.

Daniel Culberson was also a big contributor with 16 points, four assists, two steals and four rebounds. 

Brandon Ivery and Victor Yimga Moukouri each tacked on 15 points. Moukouri was 5-7 from the field and 5-5 from the three with three rebounds and two assists. Ivery added eight rebounds, two blocks and three assists while finishing 6-11 from the field, 1-2 from the three and 2-3 from the line. 

Kuai Deng also put up double digits for the Hawks with 14 points, four rebounds and one steal. Deng finished 3-7 from the field, and 8-8 from the line. 

"I was very happy with our togetherness and how we competed. Midland is a very good team and that's a hard place to win. Our guys really embraced the challenge and made some big plays when we needed them,'' noted Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Cooper.  

 As of Monday afternoon, the Hawks are ranked second in the nation and first in the WJCAC.

Next up, the red and black will head to Frank Phillips for a Thursday evening meeting at 7:30 p.m.