North Carolina A&T Uses Big Second-Half Rally To Overtake Coppin State

North Carolina A&T 76, Coppin State 72

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- North Carolina A&T closed the game with an 8-0 run, which capped a furious second-half rally, and lifted the Aggies to a 76-72 MEAC victory over Coppin State on Saturday in the Corbett Sports Center.

Vince Goldsberry gave Coppin State a 72-68 lead with a jumper with 2:00 to play in the game, but the Eagles would not score again.

R.J. Buck made one of two free throw attempts with 1:43 to play to cut the lead to 72-69 and Nic Simpson brought the Aggies within a point with two made free throws with 1:08 remaining.

Adrian Powell put North Carolina A&T in front for the first time since 6:35 remained in the first half with a layup with 36 seconds to play.

Powell made one free throw with 13 seconds to play that upped the lead to 74-72 and after Coppin State missed a layup Buck made two free throws with 6 seconds left in the game to seal the comeback for the Aggies.

North Carolina A&T (14-15, 8-6 MEAC) shot a blistering 65.4 percent from the floor in the second half to help overcome a 15-point deficit.

Thomas Coleman led North Carolina A&T with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Simpson finished with 12 points.

Coppin State (14-13, 9-5 MEAC) was led by Akeem Ellis who scored a career-high 27 points. Michael Harper had 20 points and Tony Gallo added 19 points for the Eagles.

For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.ncataggies.com

O'Quinn, Spartans Complete Season Sweep of Morgan State, 69-63

Norfolk State 69, Morgan State 63

NORFOLK, Va. - Kyle O'Quinn registered his 15th double-double of the season with game highs of 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Rob Hampton scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to help host Norfolk State earn a season sweep of defending MEAC champion Morgan State, 69-63 on Saturday night at Echols Hall.

The win broke a two-game losing streak for the Spartans (9-18, 7-7 MEAC), while the Bears (15-11, 10-4) had their five-game winning streak snapped.

O'Quinn had 15 points in the first half, when the Spartans shot 50 percent from the floor and held the Bears to 32 percent shooting. The Bears missed 14 of their first 19 shots in the first half and never led in the opening stanza, which ended with NSU leading, 31-21.

NSU still maintained a 10-point edge five minutes into the second half before the Bears made their run. MSU went on a 15-1 spurt over the next six and a half minutes to take a 46-42 lead with 8:39 remaining. The Spartans missed all eight of their shots in the run, which ended with an Aric Brooks layin.

But O'Quinn took over from there. He scored on back-to-back jumpers in the lane, then assisted on a Brandon Wheeless layup that capped a 6-0 Spartans' run and put NSU back on top, 48-46. Kevin Thompson answered with a layup at the other end, but Hampton gave NSU the lead for good with a fast-break layup that made it 50-48.

Aleek Pauline drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to push NSU's lead to seven, 59-52, with 2:31 left, and the Bears couldn't get closer than four the rest of the way.

Chris McEachin added 11 points while Pauline had nine points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals for NSU. Hampton added five assists and O'Quinn had four assists and three blocks.

Thompson paced the Bears with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Brooks had 12 points and DeWayne Jackson had 10.

For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.morganstatebears.com

Bulldogs Suffer 76-72 Setback To Wildcats

Bethune-Cookman 76, South Carolina State 72

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA-The South Carolina State Bulldogs suffered yet another setback dropping a tough 76-72 decision to the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman in MEAC play Saturday.

SC State was led by senior guard/forward Darnell Porter who poured in a game-high 27 points, while Bethune-Cookman was led by C.J. Reed with 20 points and seven assists in the victory.

A jumper by junior forward Joe Ikhinmwin put the Bulldogs ahead three, 17-14 at the 8:59 mark in the first-half. Reed tossed in a pair of free-throws along with nailing a 3-pointer to give Bethune-Cookman their biggest lead of the half seven, 32-25 with 0:52 seconds left. A free-throw by Aric Miller closed out the first-half with Bethune-Cookman leading 33-25.

Kevin Dukes nailed a 3-pointer at the 10:56 mark to give the Wildcats an 11 point advantage, 48-37. A layup by senior guard Tyvon Williams cut the lead to three, 73-70 with 0:12 seconds left in regulation.     

Free-throws seemed to be the deciding factor down the stretch as BC-U shot 73% from the charity strip hitting 25-of-34 to take a 76-72 victory over the Bulldogs.

Bethune-Cookman improves to 18-11, 12-3 in the MEAC and moves one game closer to clinching the MEAC Regular Season Championship. Meanwhile, SC State falls to 8-20 overall, 4-11 in the league.

The Wildcats had two other players in double-figures with Garrius Holloman tossing in 17 points, and Javoris Bryant chipping in 12 on the night. Despite, 20 turnovers Bethune-Cookman managed to out-rebound SC State 38-27

For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com or www.bcuathletics.com

Pirates Snap Skid With Win Over Delaware State

Hampton 71, Delaware State 64

DOVER, Del. -Hampton got back into the win column on Saturday, as the Pirates defeated Delaware State 71-64 at Memorial Hall.

With the win, the Pirates (20-8, 10-5 MEAC) have recorded their first 20-win season since 2001-02, when the Pirates went 26-7, won the MEAC and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The win also snapped Hampton's three-game losing streak.

Junior guard Kwame Morgan II led the Pirates with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range), while junior guard Darrion Pellum added 13 points. Senior forward Charles Funches scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

Funches hit a jumper with 15:27 left in the first half to tie the game at 8-8, and the Pirates went on a 7-2 run to go up 15-10 after Morgan hit a pair of free throws at the 12:18 mark.

Delaware State took an 18-17 lead at the 9:09 mark, capping an 8-2 run with a Desi Washington jumper, before the Pirates took the lead right back. The Pirates took a 35-31 lead into the half.

Marques Oliver hit a jumper with 18:25 to play to give the Hornets a 39-37 lead, and Washington followed with a trey at the 15:40 mark to tie the game at 42-42, but the Pirates scored five straight to take a 47-42 lead at the 12:47 mark on a Morgan free throw.

The Pirates never trailed the rest of the way.

The Hornets (9-18, 5-10 MEAC) shot 44.4 percent (24-for-54) from the floor, hitting six of their 14 3-pointers. Delaware State also out-scored Hampton 43-13 off the bench.

Washington led Delaware State with 15 points, while Casey Walker added 14 points and Oliver added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.dsuhornets.com

Strong Second Half Propels Maryland Eastern Shore To Win Over Howard

Maryland Eastern Shore 73, Howard 63

Princess Anne, MD-February 26---Hillary Haley poured in 15 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and Freddie Obame Obame scored all eight of his points during a key stretch to help Maryland Eastern Shore pull away to a 73-63 win over Howard in a MEAC game at the Hytche Center.

The Bison (6-22 overall, 4-11 MEAC) jumped to an early double-digit lead and appeared in good shape when they took a 40-32 lead to the locker room.  Howard was propelled by the scoring of sophomore guard Anton Dickerson, who torched the Hawks for 24 of his team's points in the first 20 minutes.  Haley paced UMES with 11 points.

The Bison continued their sterling play for the first 5 minutes as Mike Phillips picked up his play and helped his team open its biggest lead at 12 at the 12:22 mark.  Then the Hawks began to use their bench wisely against the undermanned Bison and it paid off.  Howard went cold as a result of fatigue and it began to show as the Haley began to find the range from down town while Obame Obame proved to be effective the traditional blue collar way with hustle plays and second chance opportunities around the basket.

Haley capped off the UMES run with a 3-point basket that gave his team a 52-49 advantage at the 11:38 mark.

The Hawks (7-22 overall, 4-11 MEAC) were able to salt the game away from the free throw line by scoring all 10 of their final points from the charity stripe.

Dickerson, who came into the game averaging 11 points per game but went scoreless in the previous loss to Bethune-Cookman on Monday, finished with a team-high 25 points, just off his career best of 26.  Philiips finished with his fifth double double of the season (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Alphonso Leary tallied 9 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out.

Haley was the only Hawks player to reach double figures.  Kevin White finished with 9 points and 7 assists.

For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com or www.howard-bison.com


North Carolina Central Holds Off Rattlers, 58-55

North Carolina Central 58, Florida A&M Rattlers 55

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (Feb. 26) - Landon Clement hits three free throws with 26 second left as the North Carolina Central hands the Florida A&M their second home loss of the season.

FAMU (12-17) was paced by Amin Stevens as he finished with a double-double in 23 points and 12 rebounds.

NCCU (14-13) was led by both Landon Clement and C.J,. Wilkerson as they both finished with 15 points each, followed by a Nick Chasten with 10.  Chasten led the Eagles on the board with eight rebounds.

In the first half, the Rattler built a 17-9 lead capped off by an Amin Stevens layup with 8:14 to go in the first.

The Eagle took a 21-20 lead with 3:17 to go   on a Clement three pointer, capping a 12-3 run by NCCU. 

FAMU would go into the break with a 25-23 lead over NCCU.

The Rattlers finished the first half shooting 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from the field, while the Eagles hot 37.5 percent (9-of-24).

FAMU in the second half took a 33-28 lead on a Larry Jackson layup with 15:50 to go in the game.

A pair of free throws by Wilkerson would give the Eagles a 35-33 lead with 13:08 to go. 

In the remaining twelve minutes of the game there would be fives ties.

A Tannic Crowder layup with 48 seconds left in regulation would tie the game at 55-55.

Then a Jeremy Dean foul with 26 seconds left would send Clement to the charity stripe for three free throw attempts. 

Clement would connect on all three free throws for the 58-55 win.

For the complete story, visit www.famurattlersports.com or www.nccueaglepride.com