S. Carolina St. 74, Howard 61

2/18/2008 6:00 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -Julius Carter scored a career high 19 points, including a 9-for-9 performance from the free-throw line, to lead South Carolina State to a 74-61 win against Howard.

Carrio Bennett scored 14 and Thomas Bookman 13 for South Carolina State (9-17, 5-7 MEAC), which ended a three-game losing streak.

Randy Hampton scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and Eugene Myatt also scored 17 for Howard (5-21, 2-9) which has lost six in a row and nine of its last 10.

South Carolina State led by as many as 18 points early in the second half, but the Bison made a charge.

Howard's Eugene Myatt scored eight straight points to pull the Bison within six points, 56-50, with about 8 minutes left.

South Carolina State immediately regained control with a 8-1 run, and the Bulldogs were not seriously threatened the rest of the way.

After Howard scored the opening basket, South Carolina State took the lead and kept it until the final buzzer. The Bulldogs used a 12-0 run to take a 23-9 lead 10 minutes into the game and led 40-29 at halftime.

Howard had 18 offensive rebounds but just 13 second-chance points. South Carolina State scored 10 points off eight offensive boards.