South Carolina State beats Howard 71-63

WASHINGTON (AP) Gabriel McCray made all three of his 3-point attempts and scored 18 points on Monday night to lead South Carolina State over Howard 71-63.

Eric Eaves led the Bulldogs with 19 points and scored the last five points in the final 17 seconds with a 3-point play and a dunk that capped a 10-2 spurt to close the game. That run started with Greg Mortimer's 3-pointer at 2:35 that gave South Carolina State (16-12, 11-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) the lead for good at 64-61.

The Bulldogs stayed a half-game behind Hampton for first place in the conference.

James Daniel III made a pair of free throws to pull the Bison (11-17, 5-8) within 64-63. McCray's layup pushed the lead back to three with 1:11 left.

Ed Stephens added 15 points and Tashombe Riley had 10 points and nine rebounds for South Carolina State.

Daniel scored 24 to lead the Bison. Marcel Boyd had 17 points with 10 rebounds and Damon Collins added 10 points.