Pirates Pick up Conference Win over FAMU
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University men’s basketball team picked up its first conference win of the season Saturday evening at the HU Convocation Center, defeating Florida A&M 72-62.
The Pirates (4-5, 1-0 MEAC) have won back-to-back games.
Sophomore guard Deron Powers (Williamsburg, Va.) led three Pirates in double figures with 22 points, going 7-for-12 from the floor and dishing out a team-high four assists. Senior forward Du’Vaughn Maxwell (Manhattan, N.Y.) added 15 points and eight rebounds.
Junior center Emmanuel Okoroba (Garland, Texas) added 10 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Dwight Meikle (Baltimore, Md.) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
The Rattlers had control early, leading 17-9 at the 10:13 mark after a layup from Muhammad Abdul-Aleem, but the Pirates answered with a 16-6 run to take a 25-23 lead on a jumper from Powers with 3:55 left in the half.
A FAMU free throw cut the lead to 25-24, before the Pirates jumped out to a 32-26 lead with 1:29 left in the half following a 3-point play from Okoroba. Meikle added a jumper with 45 seconds left in the half to put Hampton up 34-28.
The Pirates went into the half with a 36-31 lead.
Read more at HamptonPirates.com.
NSU Holds Back Bethune-Cookman 59-45
NORFOLK, Va. – Up by just two at the break, the Norfolk State men’s basketball team pulled away from Bethune-Cookman in the second half in a 59-45 victory on Saturday evening at Joseph Echols Hall.
The Spartans were held to more than 25 points below their season average, but a strong defensive effort allowed NSU to win its 21st straight conference regular season game, the longest active streak in Division I basketball.
Norfolk State improved to 7-3 overall, the best 10-game start in the D-I era, and 2-0 in the MEAC. Bethune-Cookman dropped to 2-9, 0-1 after shooting just 16-of-53 (30.2 percent) for the game.
Senior Riley Maye tied his career high and led NSU with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting coming off the bench.
He had 11 in the second half as the Spartans turned a 30-30 tie into a double-digit lead over a six-and-a-half minute span. Senior Pendarvis Williams made it 44-33 at the end of the run after hitting a pair of free throws.
A short time later, Williams hit a driving layup with an outstretched left hand for a 52-40 advantage. Senior Marese Phelps got the kind bounce on his 3-point shot, and Williams hit a baseline jumper to cap an extended 15-5 run that lasted another eight minutes and put the Spartans up by 17.
Read the full story NSUSpartans.com.
Howard Loses MEAC Opener to Morgan State
BALTIMORE, MD--Justin Black scored a team-high 17 points to lead five players in double figures as Morgan State pulled away to an 87-58 win over Howard University in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener at the Hill Fieldhouse.
After the Bison (2-9, 0-1 in the MEAC) cut the deficit to eight, Black reeled off eight straight points during a two-minute stretch to open the game’s biggest lead at 47-31 early in the second half.
Howard had managed to stay during the first half, due to the scoring of Prince Okoroh, who tallied 21 of his game-high 25 points.
But the junior forward missed seven of his eight shots and it spelled trouble for the young Bison as they went long stretches with any scoring. The Bears (2-7, 1-0 MEAC) were able to take advantage of the drought by forcing 15 second half turnovers and shooting a sizzling 66 percent (19 of 29) from the field.
Howard was able to get leading scorer, freshman guard James Daniel going in the second half when he tallied 13 of his 17 after intermission, but it was not enough to offset the balanced attack of the Bears.
In addition to Black’s 17, the Bears got 13 each from Anthony Hubbard and Blake Bozeman, 12 from Thair Heat off the bench and 10 from Cedric Blossom.
Howard freshman center Marcel Boyd, who was coming off his first double-double in the loss to American, got into early foul trouble and finished with nine points and six rebounds in 21 minutes in his first start.
Read more at HUBison.com.
Sluggish Start Ends NCCU’s Six-Game Winning Streak
INDIANPOLIS, IND. – Poor first half shooting, a difference of 13 fouls, and costly mistakes down-the-stretch doomed North Carolina Central University as the Eagles dropped a 71-65 decision against the host Jaguars of IUPUI on Saturday afternoon inside The Jungle.
The loss ends NCCU’s six-game winning streak, giving the maroon and gray a sour taste in their mouths heading into the exam break.
Through the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the game, the Eagles manage to score two field goals, while the Jaguars heated up leading 13-5, forcing head coach LeVelle Moton to call a timeout to wake his squad up.
While the Eagles started the contest 2-for-13, IUPUI came out firing, riding high after their Wednesday night victory over Bradley going 5-for-7 from three-point range that included three from way downtown from P.J. Hubert, who entered the contest 4-for-19 (21.0 percent) from-the-outside.
NCCU connected on just nine first half field goals, went 0-for-8 from deep, but went 7-for-8 from the foul line and trailed by only eight at 33-25 heading into the locker room.
The second stanza saw the Eagles pick up the intensity, but the Jags kept adding to the lead holding on to a 14-point advantage at 44-30, their largest of the day, with 14:19 to go.
An 8-1 run around the midway portion of the frame, brought NCCU within six at 49-43 with 11:29 left, but IUPUI answered by scoring the next five points to make it 54-43.
Read the full story at NCCUEaglePride.com.