In a gritty, momentum-shifting HBCU showdown at historic Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, Howard University used a dominant first half and clutch late-game execution to outlast North Carolina A&T. The Bison earned a statement win built on balanced scoring and timely defense. Yet the game’s impact stretched far beyond the box score. The matchup brought two founding MEAC members back to the arena where their rivalry—and the conference itself—first took center stage more than 50 years ago.
A Historic Hardwood With a New-School HBCU Vibe
For Howard University and North Carolina A&T, stepping into Cameron Indoor was a return to sacred ground. In 1972, the building hosted the first-ever MEAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. That first championship game featured—appropriately—the Bison versus the Aggies. Those early battles set the tone for a league built on access, excellence, and national visibility for Black student-athletes.
A&T won the first two MEAC titles on this very floor, forever linking both programs to the conference’s origin story.
That history framed Tuesday night’s 104th meeting between the schools. Even though the listed attendance was only 780 fans inside the 9,314-seat arena. The building carried an unmistakably HBCU energy. The weeknight crowd may have been small by Cameron Indoor Stadium standards, but those who showed up were die-hard supporters from both programs, creating an intimate atmosphere that, at times, felt like an invite-only homecoming game tucked inside the cathedral of college hoops.
Fans from both schools traded chants from baseline to baseline. Players fed off the closeness of the crowd. And after the final buzzer, Howard players were seen joking with NC A&T fans at the scorer’s table—captured in HBCU Gameday’s postgame Instagram video—a reminder that this rivalry carries competitive fire and cultural familiarity in equal measure.
The attendance numbers said “light crowd,” but the vibe said “classic HBCU hoops in a legendary space.”
Howard Controls the First Half
Howard set the tone from the opening tip with one of its most efficient halves of the season. The Bison shot 50% from the field and 62.5% from three (5-of-8). They stretched the Aggies’ defense with spacing, ball movement, and confident shot-making. Their nine-point halftime lead was a product of pace and balance, and it forced A&T into difficult defensive rotations they struggled to solve early.
Stars Deliver for the Bison
Bryce Harris delivered a complete two-way performance. He finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium. His aggression stabilized Howard whenever momentum shifted.
Cam Gillus matched him with 19 points of his own. He shot 5-of-10 from the field and went 7-of-9 at the line, capitalizing on drives that kept pressure on A&T throughout the second half.
Inside, Danas Kazakevicius gave Howard University a reliable anchor. He scored 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting, serving as a paint-scoring safety valve in key stretches.
Even as Howard cooled after halftime—shooting 36.4% from the field and 1-of-6 from deep—the Bison compensated by attacking the rim. They earned 23 free-throw attempts in the second half and hit 15 of them, a decisive margin in a tight finish.
Howard closed the night shooting 44.4% overall, 42.9% from three, and 67.9% from the line.
NC A&T’s Late Push Falls Just Short
North Carolina A&T fought back behind strong second-half play. Trent Middleton Jr. led the charge with 18 points, while Lewis Walker added 15. Zamoku Weluche-Ume contributed 10 points and eight rebounds, giving A&T needed interior scoring and physicality.
KJ Debrick imposed himself defensively with six blocks and eight rebounds, sparking the energy shift that nearly flipped the game.
A&T struggled early, shooting 38.7% from the floor and just 1-of-8 from three in the first half. But after halftime, they surged to 46.9% shooting and looked far more comfortable attacking Howard’s defense. The Aggies finished the night at 42.9% from the field, 25% from three, and 73.3% at the stripe—numbers that reflected a resilient response but also their early offensive inconsistency.
A Modern Battle Rooted in Legacy
For Head Coach Kenny Blakeney—himself a Duke national champion—bringing Howard back to Cameron carried personal meaning. It also served as a living reminder of how far HBCU basketball has come since the first MEAC Tournament tipped off on this same court in 1972.
Today, the rivalry between Howard and NC A&T looks different. The Aggies now compete in the CAA. Howard remains a MEAC cornerstone. But the connection is still there, running through history, competition, culture, and community.
On Tuesday night, that connection filled Cameron Indoor—not with 9,000 fans, but with a few hundred passionate voices who made the building crackle in a way only HBCU hoops can.
Howard University earned the win. Both programs honored the moment. And as the season continues to build, this matchup offered a reminder of the depth, intensity, and cultural resonance that make HBCU basketball one of the most exciting landscapes in the sport.