Visiting Howard University limped into the Siegel Center on Tuesday, Dec. 27, to play the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams.

It didn’t go well for the Howard basketball team that was minus three starters, including star James “J-Byrd” Daniel III, the 2016 MEAC Player of the Year.

The Washington team was routed 85-51 before a sold out crowd of 7,637 fans at the Siegel Center.

Injury-ravaged Howard has since fallen to 3-11 under Coach Kevin Nickelberry following a Friday, Jan. 30, loss at Harvard University 67-46.

Daniel, a senior guard from Hampton, led the NCAA Division I last year with a 27.1 scoring norm. He has been sidelined all season with an ankle injury.

Also missing in the game against VCU were starters James Miller and Damon Collins. Miller was averaging 16.1 points before suffering a broken hand in Howard’s seventh game.

Point guard Collins injured a foot on Dec. 22 during the warm-up before Howard’s 65-46 loss at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

“We can’t cry about the situation,” Coach Nickelberry told the media. “We had to stand together as one and fight through the adversity.”

Collins did return in the game against Harvard University, but Daniel and Miller remained sidelined.

A shining light for the Bison has been freshman Charles “CJ” Williams from Millwood School in Chesterfield County.

The 6-foot-5, 180-pound Williams scored 20 points against VCU and averages 13.9 points per game. Twice he has been the MEAC Rookie of the Week. He also has had five straight double-digit outings before settling for eight at Harvard University.

The Bison hopes for a better health forecast by the time it begins MEAC play on Wednesday, Jan. 4, in Washington against Florida A&M University.

It wasn’t like VCU rubbed it in against the Bison. All 11 uniformed Rams played, with 10 scoring. The Rams played the final 14 minutes with three freshmen on the floor. Also, starting center Mo Alie-Cox played only 9 minutes, and backup center Ahmed Hamdy did not suit up for the game per the coach’s decision.

VCU has been playing HBCUs since 1968, but this marked the Rams first contest with Howard.

During the 1968-69 season, VCU defeated West Virginia State University, lost to Maryland State College (now University of Maryland at Eastern Shore) and split a pair of games with Virginia Union University.     

VCU was among the first majority white Southern schools to schedule games with HBCUs.