Farrakhan's 31 shoot Virginia past Howard, 84-63
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Mustapha Farrakhan made his first 11 shots from the field, including eight 3-pointers, and scored a career-high 31 points Tuesday night, leading Virginia to a 84-63 victory against Howard.
Joe Harris hit five 3-pointers and added 16 points for the Cavaliers (10-5), who snapped out of a long-distance funk in which they went 11 for 63 over their past three games. Virginia was 16 for 25 from beyond the arc, falling two 3s shy of the single-game school record.
Mike Phillips scored 21 points and Dadrian Collins 15 for Howard (2-11), which lost despite shooting 53 percent (24 of 45) with eight 3s. The Bison couldn't keep pace with Farrakhan.
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The senior had 18 points by halftime. He hit five 3s during a streak of nine consecutive 3-pointers for the Cavaliers, who took command with a 31-12 burst. It gave them a 41-28 lead, and the Bison only cut it to single digits once after that.
After the Bison pulled to 49-40 on a three-point play by Phillips with 17:01 left, they turned it over on their next three possessions. KT Harrell hit a jumper after the first, Farrakhan a 3-pointer after the second and Akil Mitchell finished it with a steal and dunk.
Farrakhan went to the bench to rousing applause with 8:53 left, then came back in needing one 3-pointer to tie Curtis Staples' school record of nine in a game. He got a shot shortly after returning, but the ball bounced off the rim, the only time he hit the rim all night.
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His previous high was 23 points this season against Minnesota.
The first half looked like a shooting exhibition, especially for Virginia.
The Cavaliers made 10 consecutive field-goal attempts in the half, nine from 3-point territory, and shot 76 percent in the half (16 of 21), but the Bison trailed only 45-32 at the break.
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Collins, who hit his first four 3-point shots, led the Bison with 12 points, and Phillips was 5 for 6 and scored 10 in the opening half. Howard, a 35-percent shooting team, shot 56.6 percent in the half (13 of 23).