Catonsville, MD – A late push by the Dragons led by
Deven Richmond (Bear, DE/DeMatha) and
Kevin Yomba (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) fell just short as Howard fell to CCBC Catonsville 76-73.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead, going ahead by seven before
Kevin Yomba (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) went on a run scoring eight of the next 10 Howard points combined with a
Deven Richmond (Bear, DE/DeMatha) three pointer to tie the game at 27-27. Richmond went on to score the last five points for the Dragons as Howard trailed by just two at the halftime break.
Catonsville came out firing in the second half and build themselves a 12 point lead which they maintained for the majority of the stanza.
With several Howard starters struggling to find their shooting form, it was Yomba who continued to be a scoring presence for the Dragons to keep the Cardinals from pulling away. It was Yomba who started the Dragons comeback as his layup with 11 minutes left followed by layups from
Emeka Eni (Pesaro, Italy/Lewisville) and
Nathan Ferguson (Silver Spring, MD/Bethesda) cut the Catonsville lead to just four.
Down 70-62 with five minutes left, Richmond took over control with a three point play followed by a
Brandon Howell (Suitland, MD/Henry Wise) three pointer to cut the Catonsville lead down to two.
With just two minutes remaining and Howard still down by four, Richmond drew a flagrant foul and made both free throws. He then took the inbounds pass and made another old
fashioned three point play to give Howard the lead at 73-72.
Catonsville answered right back with a basket to take back the lead and then made a couple of free throws late to build up a three point lead with 17 seconds remaining. Richmond attempted a last second three pointer to tie the game, but only found metal on the shot as Howard was unable to complete the comeback.
Yomba finished with 23 points to lead all scorers in the game on 7-8 shooting from the floor and 9-10 from the free throw line. Richmond closed out with 22 points and Howell chipped in 15.
Howard will enjoy their Thanksgiving break before traveling to take on the Navy JV team on Monday, November 26 at 6 PM.
