ORANGEBURG, SC—Freshman guard Mitchell Taylor finished with a team-high 18 points, but it wasn't enough as South Carolina State dropped a devasting 78-82 defeat to Howard Monday (Jan.8) in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) inside Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.

South Carolina State falls to 4-14 overall, 0-2 in the MEAC, while Howard improves to 5-13 overall 1-1 in the league.

Abita Taylor added 13, while teammate Omar Croskey provided a solid performance with nine (9) points and five (5) rebounds in the loss.

Despite the loss, the Bulldogs led in several categories Points off Turnovers (18-12), Second Chance Points (10-8), Fast Break Points (6-0) and Bench Points (38-20).

SCSU defense force the Bison to a game-high 15 turnovers on the night.

Howard was led by Bryce Harris with 19 and Dom Campbell with 18 in the win.

"It was disappointing loss," said head coach Erik Martin. "We have to get better in certain areas and not make any excuses moving forward. We still have a lot of basketball left in the conference and I'm hopeful my team will bounce back and learn from this."

NEXT UP: South Carolina State remain at home in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) doubleheader Saturday (Jan. 20) versus North Carolina Central inside Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. Tipoff is 2 p.m. for the women, followed by a 4 p.m. start for the men.

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