Howard Wins Region 20 DII Men's Basketball Championship in Thrilling Final
Courtesy Howard CC Athletics
NORTH EAST, MD - A thrilling end to a hotly contested game saw the Howard Dragons hold on to defeat the CCBC Catonsville Cardinals to win the Region 20 and Mid-Atlantic District championship by the score of 74-71. The win gives Howard an automatic bid to the national tournament in Danville, IL as they won the regional championship for the second time in four years.
Andrew Mills took over the game early once again as he asserted his will in the paint to put the Dragons ahead early on including a put back dunk to put Howard ahead 15-13. The Dragons suffered a devastating injury blow a couple minutes later as Shane Taylor went out with a lower body injury.
The Dragons surged ahead once more as Arthur Roache spun into the lane and made a layup followed by a Jaden Johnson three pointer to make it a 28-23 lead. Ryan Conway would score the next seven points to give Howard a 12 point lead before the Cardinals fought back to cut it to 39-32 at halftime.
Catonsville stormed out of the gates in the second half, going on an 8-0 run as the Dragons were scoreless for over four minutes as the Cardinals took the lead. The Howard defense clamped down from there as the Cardinals went scoreless for over six minutes of play as the Dragons took the lead back on an Emanuel Henriques three point play.
Catonsville fought back once again as their three point shooting heated up to give the Cardinals the lead at 55-52 with six minutes left. O'Meech Wilson made a tough layup followed by Mills making one of his own, then Conway splashed down a huge three pointer to put the Dragons up by two. Jalen Bowie came up with a huge steal to set Conway free for a fast break layup followed by a Mills step back jumper to give the Dragons a six point lead. Mills would hit a big three pointer from the top of the key to extend the lead to nine with two minutes left.
Once again the Cardinals fought back, getting the game to a one point Howard lead with 20 seconds left. Conway was sent to the line a couple of times, making all four free throws to give the Dragons a 74-71 lead as Catonsville lost the ball and the Dragons celebrated their championship.
Mills finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds along with 3 blocks as he was named the tournament MVP. Conway scored 21 points and 3 assists as he was also named to the all-tournament team. Wilson and Henriques scored 9 points each while Bowie added 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
The Dragons earned the 15th seed in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament and will face 18th seed Florida State Jacksonville at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 18.