NORFOLK, VA – Seventh-seeded South Carolina State's Damani Applewhite scored a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough as tenth-seed Howard advanced in the opening-round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament in a 70-63 win Tuesday at the Scope Arena.

Two other Bulldogs were in double figures with senior's guard Jahmri Etienne finishing with 11 and Tashombe Riley 10, while Ozante Fields added seven points and six rebounds in the loss.

Despite the loss, the Bulldogs led in points in the paint (30-26) and rebounding (42-36), while forcing a game-high 17 turnovers.

Howard which led 29-22 and saw its biggest lead 15 with 7:07 remaining in regulation. South Carolina State pulled as close as seven down the stretch.

Charles Williams led the with Howard with 24 points, while teammate Kyle Foster added 18 in the win.

South Carolina State close out the season at 11-18 overall, while Howard improves to 4-28 on the season. The Bison advance to take on second-seed North Carolina A&T State on Wednesday  at  8 p.m.