Howard Men's Basketball Represents Region 20 at Nationals
Danville, IL – The Region 20 and Mid-Atlantic District Champion Howard Community College competed at the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship March 17-21 in Danville, IL. The Dragons earned the 12th seed in a 20-team tournament after finishing the regular season ranked 15th and earning a direct bid with the district title.
With the top 12 teams earning a bye to the second-round, Howard played Game 5 of the tournament against fifth seeded Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). DMACC climbed to #3 in the final poll of the season but lost to Iowa Central in the Region 11 semifinal. DMACC earned their way to the tournament by way of an at-large bid.
Howard trailed by five at the end of the first half with DMACC leading 34-29. It didn't take long for Howard to overcome the halftime deficit, scoring the first six points of the second half to take the lead. Shooting at a slightly higher clip than DMACC, and winning the turnover points battle, Howard won the second half 28-23, tying the game at 57 at the end of regulation.
Sophomore Truth Norton started an 8-2 Dragons run with 2:57 remaining in overtime which carried the Dragons to a 69-66 victory. Three players scored double-digit points with Emanuel Henriques leading with 22 points. Norton added 18 and Arthur Roache scored 10.
Advancing to the quarterfinal, Howard met #4 Parkland who defeated Henry Ford 83-81 in the second-round. Parkland, the Central District Champion, entered the national tournament with a 30-2 record.
Howard used a strong first half to take Parkland to halftime leading 36-33, shooting 52% from the field and a blistering 60% from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, Howard shot under 30% from the field in the second half, connecting on just one three-pointer. Howard held a one-point lead with under five minutes left in the contest, but Parkland went on a 10-3 run to win 60-54. Norton was the leading scorer with 13 points.
With the quarterfinal loss the Dragons moved to the consolation bracket, playing #6 Macomb in their final game of the tournament. A first half deficit of two points, 33-31, would be the difference as Howard went toe-to-toe with Macomb in the second half matching their 38-point effort. Macomb won the contest 71-69.
Sincere Barfield came off the bench to score 25 for the Dragons. Henriques and Norton added 14 and 12 points respectively.
Finishing the season with a 26-7 record showcased the strength of their program with an upset victory and a point deficit of only four. All three of Howard's national tournament opponents ranked in the top 10 of the final regular season poll. The Dragons' largest deficit of the tournament was 12 points against teams that entered the tournament with a combined 81-9 record.
For all tournament results, visit, Division II Men's Tournament Results.