Howard won its first NCAA Tournament game Tuesday night, as Ose Okojie scored 23 points and helped the Bison to an 86-83 win over UMBC in the opening First Four game of March Madness in Dayton, Ohio.
It was Howard’s third NCAA Tournament appearance under seventh-year coach Kenny Blakeney. The 16th-seeded Bison advance to play top-seeded Michigan on Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y.
The loss snapped UMBC’s 12-game winning streak. The Retrievers, forever known as the first 16th-seeded program to knock off a No. 1 seed in the men’s tournament — with a hilarious social media feed to boot — hadn’t lost a game since Jan. 29.
And for a bit, it looked like they weren’t going to lose Tuesday, either.
UMBC trailed the entire second half, but after Howard missed the front end on consecutive one-and-ones, DJ Armstrong Jr. drained a 3-pointer to bring the Retrievers within 83-81 with 43 seconds to play. But Bryce Harris, a fifth-year senior and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year, had an answer. Harris hit a tough turnaround jumper in the lane with 13 seconds left to give Howard some breathing room.
WHAT A SHOT!
HOWARD LEADS BY FOUR 🔥#MarchMadness @HUMensBB pic.twitter.com/QWbp5YMK8N
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2026
UMBC’s Jah’Likai King got to the rim quickly to cut it to two again, and then Howard hit one of two free throws to take a three-point lead with 5.5 seconds remaining. Armstrong got a decent look at a deep 3, but it was off and Howard escaped with the win. It was Howard’s ninth straight victory.
The 54-year-old Blakeney, who won back-to-back national championships as a player at Duke, said afterward that he wasn’t thinking at all about his own legacy in leading Howard to its first NCAA Tournament victory.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” he said on the truTV broadcast. “It’s not about me, it’s about their student experience … These guys are gonna remember this for the rest of their life, just as I will, and the Howard community will.”
Harris finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for Howard, while Cedric Taylor III added 16 points. Howard led for more than 37 minutes, and by as much as 14 early in the second half.
King and Armstrong led UMBC with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
As for how Blakeney and the Bison might “shock the world” and upset the Wolverines, he just smiled and laughed.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” he said.
This story will be updated.