New Rochelle, NY - The Howard CC Dragons gave the #8 ranked Sullivan County quite a sweat, but the Generals held on late to stave off the Dragons 74-72 in the Monroe College Mixer.

Howard jumped out to a good start as Koby Baptiste (New Carrollton, MD/Parkdale) knocked down a three pointer and Daeshawn Eaton (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) scored a fast break layup to put the Dragons ahead early. The two teams exchanged baskets back and forth for much of the first half, but a couple of big DJ Tucker (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) layups late in the first half had the Dragons narrowly behind 45-39 at halftime. 

The Dragons once again came out of the games fast to start the second half as a 7-0 run capped by an Eaton three pointer put Howard ahead. That lead was maintained for much of the second half as they maxed out their advantage at 58-53 on a Cole Harshman (Baltimore, MD/Dulaney) long range make. After a strong run from the Generals to retake the lead, Tucker found Harshman on a great back cut to lay the ball in to put Howard ahead by three. As Sullivan County continued to work their way back up, the Dragons went cold as they missed their last nine shots from the field to end the game.

David Garey (Gaithersburg, MD/Hargrave Military) led the team with 24 points while Harshman hit three from behind the arc on his way to a 13 point night. Eaton chipped in 11 points and Tucker earned a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. 

The Dragons will look to redeem themselves when they take on tournament hosts Monroe College at 3 PM on Sunday, December 12.