NCCU Rings In New Year With Big Road Win Over Winthrop
ROCK HILL, S.C. - For the fourth straight game Jeremy Ingram led North Carolina Central University in scoring as he dropped in 22 points and the visiting Eagles took down Winthrop University 64-57 on Wednesday night inside Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C.
Ingram started his scoring early and often as he was responsible for the first nine points for NCCU through the first four minutes as the Eagles led 9-2 heading into the first media timeout.
Winthrop quickly responded to cut the margin to three at 9-6 on a Derrick Henry jumper, but the host Eagles threw their best punch in the first frame as they went on a 9-2 run with 3:45 remaining to tie the ballgame up at 24-24 with 1:19 to go.
Fourteen seconds later Antonin Galaya drilled perhaps his biggest shot of the season from the right corner to give the Eagles the lead at 27-24 and sent NCCU into the locker room with the lead intact.
The maroon and gray connected on its first six shots to outscore the host Eagles 17-to-5 in the first six minutes to stretch the lead out to 15 at 44-29. Through that first six minutes, Karamo Jawara led the charge with six points.
Winthrop tried its best to rally cutting the double-digit lead to seven at 53-46 on a Larry Brown tip-in with 5:22 left, forcing head coach LeVelle Moton to call a timeout to thwart the momentum.
WU followed that up with another Henry jumper to make it 53-48 with 3:55 to go and that's when Ray Willis got fouled and drilled both free throws to push the lead back out to 55-48 with 3:23 left.
The visiting Eagles hung on from there with clutch free-throw shooting to hang on for the 64-57 win, their first against a member of the Big South Conference since moving to the NCAA Division I level.
Ingram, who went 4-for-6 from three-point range, became the first Eagle since C.J. Wilkerson in the 2010-11 season to score 20 points or more in four straight games. Stanton Kidd nearly recorded another double-double with 14 points eight rebounds on 5-for-10 shooting from the field.
Winthrop (6-6) had two student-athletes in double figures as both Brown and Henry scored 15 points apiece in the second home loss of the season for the host Eagles.
For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com.
Pirates' Struggles Continue In Road Loss To USC Upstate
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Hampton University men's basketball team fell on the road Wednesday night, as South Carolina Upstate took a 68-49 win in the Hodges Center.
The Pirates (2-10) are winless on the road this season.
Du'Vaughn Maxwell led the Pirates with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. He also blocked four shots on the night. Ramon Mercado added eight points off the bench.
The Pirates opened the game on an 8-0 run, taking that lead at the 16:24 mark after a 3-pointer from Jasper Williams. Wesley Dunning later gave Hampton a 12-4 lead at the 13:33 mark after back-to-back layups.
USC Upstate fought back, though, using a 13-4 run to take a 17-16 lead at the 6:14 mark, its first lead of the night, on a layup from Rob Elam. Maxwell gave the lead back to the Pirates with 5:43 left in the half with a layup, before Ty Greene put the Spartans back on top with a jumper at the 5:26 mark.
A Maxwell dunk at the 2:12 mark gave Hampton a 25-24 lead, but USC Upstate closed the half on a 10-0 run to go into the locker room with a 34-25 lead after Torrey Craig hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Pirates came out strong in the second half, opening the frame with a 13-4 run to tie the game at 38-38 with 13:43 to play after freshman forward Dionte Adams (Charlotte, N.C.) sank a layup. But Greene gave USC Upstate the lead back with 13:09 to play, hitting a trey to put the Spartans up 41-38.
That basket kicked off a 20-3 run for the Spartans, who went up 58-41 with 5:16 to play after an Adrian Rodgers free throw. The closest the Pirates got from there was 14, cutting the lead to 61-47 with 1:45 to play after a Maxwell layup.
Greene led three Spartans in double figures with 17 points.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com.
Hornets Win At Marshall, 53-51
Huntington, W.V. - Short-handed Delaware State fought its way to another road win, upending Conference USA Marshall 53-51 at the Cam Henderson Center.
The Hornets, in collecting their first victory against a C-USA opponent, snapped a three-game skid to improve to 6-8 this season. Marshall fell to 7-7.
Delaware State led 21-17 at the break and was ahead by as many as 12 in the second half.
Casey Walker led three Hornets in double figures with 13 points. His performance included three three-point field goals. Marques Oliver added 12 points and Tyshawn Bell came off the bench to tally 11. Bell also knocked down three three-pointers.
Walker gave DSU a 38-30 lead on a three-pointer with 10:03 remaining before Marshall began to claw its way back into the game.
The Herd's Nigel Spikes capped off an 11-3 run with a dunk to tie the game at 41-41 with 3:48 left. Marshall took its first of the game, 43-41, on two free throws by Elijah Pittman (17 points) at the 3:02 mark of the second half.
The Hornets regained the lead, 44-43, when Bell nailed his third three-pointer of the game on the ensuing possession.
After Marshall pulled ahead again, 45-44, on a lay-up by Kelvin Amayo, little-used freshman guard Chris Lewis hit two free throws to put the Hornets ahead by one with 1:51 left.
Marshall's Amayo sank one of two free throws with 1:45 remaining to tie the game at 46-46.
On the next possession, Delaware State's Jabari Joyner hit a three-point shot from the right corner with 58 seconds left to put the Hornets ahead for good, 49-46. Joyner came off the bench to score a season-high five points.
Delaware State played without leading scorer Tahj Tate (coach's decision) and three other regulars. Starting point guard A.J. Thomas sat out the game due to a wrist injury, while starting center Kendall Gray and reserve guard Amere May also did not compete.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com.
FIU claws Rattlers, 88-72
MIAMI, Fla. - In their third consecutive road game, the Florida A&M Men's Basketball team dropped a 88-72 decision to interstate rival FIU Wednesday evening at U.S. Century Bank.
FAMU (4-10) had three Rattlers to score in double figures as both Reggie Lewis and Jomari Bradshaw scored team high 15 points each, while Jamie Adams added 14. Markee Teal led the Rattlers on the boards with eight and Lewis dished out a team high six assists.
FIU (5-7) had three Panthers to score in double figures as two of them finished with 20-plus points as Tynell Murphy led all scorers with 24 points and pulled down 20 rebounds. Malik Smith added 23 points and Jimenez Porcer finished with 12. Jerome also pulled down double-digit rebounds for the Panthers with 10 and Deric Hill dished out eight assists.
FAMU grabbed the early 10-3 lead on a Walter Davis layup with 16:44 to go in the first.
The Panthers would regain the lead on a Porcher put back with 12:18 to go in the first, capping a 10-5 run by FIU.
FIU would extend their lead to 32-21 on a Murphy layup with 7:03 to in the half as the Rattlers would go into the break trailing FIU, 44-37.
FAMU opened the second half with a 13-6 run as the tied the game at 50-50 on a Bradshaw layup with 16:10 to in the game.
FIU responded with an 11-2 run to take a 61-52 lead on a Tola Akomolate with 12:18 to go in the game. Then the Panthers would extend their lead to 77-64 on a Smith free throw with 4:42 to go in the contest.
The Rattlers would score eight more points as the Panthers held on for the 88-72 win.
For the complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com.
CSU's Franklin Scores Season High in Loss to Akron
AKRON, Ohio - Troy Franklin scored a season-high 26 points, but Akron had three players post a double-double and placed five players in double figures in scoring on its way to a 91-63 victory over Coppin State on Wednesday in Rhodes Arena.
Nick Harney, Zeke Marshall and Jake Kretzer each recorded a double-double for Akron. Harney had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Kretzer had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Marshall added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Brian Walsh had 14 points and Demetrius Treadwell added 13 points to join the trio in double figures.
Franklin was 9-of-18 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from the three-point line, to finish with a Coppin State career high. Franklin scored 27 points against William and Mary while playing for Towson in 2010.
Akron (9-4) improved to 7-0 at home with the victory. The Zips shot 45.9 percent from the floor and out-rebounded Coppin State 60-27.
Coppin State (3-12), which was playing its seventh consecutive road game, shot just 29.0 percent from the floor for the game.
Akron, which never trailed in the game, jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Taariq Cephas connected on a three-pointer with 15:41 to play in the first period.
A three-point basket by Charles Ieans cut the Akron lead to 14-10 with 10:49 remaining in the opening half, but the Zips responded with a 15-0 run.
Coppin State closed the first half on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to 42-27 at halftime.
Akron held as much as a 28-point lead in the second half.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com.