NCCU Downs Coppin State to Earn Fifth Straight Win
DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University earned its fifth straight win to move to 4-1 in the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) behind 18 points in the first half by senior Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) to go along with the staunch maroon and gray defense holding Coppin State University to 33.3 percent shooting on the way to an 87-63 win at McDougald-McLendon Gym on Saturday afternoon.
The host Eagles were scorching from the field offensively to take the early advantage as NCCU jumped out to a 9-2 lead through the first three minutes.
Both teams went back-and-forth through the first nine minutes cutting the early deficit to two at 18-16 with 11:28 to go in the first frame on senior Michael Murray’s three-pointer.
The maroon and gray responded with an 8-to-2 run to take a 26-18 lead on sophomore Dante Holmes (Baltimore, Md.) jumper with 8:46 to go.
Over the next four minutes, the host Eagles heated up from behind-the-arc and stretch the lead out to 14 at 40-26 and used that momentum to take a 50-37 advantage into the locker room.
In the first half, Ingram went 3-for-4 from three-point range and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line to pace the maroon and gray with 18 points. As a team, NCCU shot 18-for-29 (62.1 percent) from-the-field, 7-for-10 (70 percent) from three-point range to jump out to the double-digit lead.
Read more at NCCUEaglePride.com.
N.C. A&T Knocks off Morgan State in OT
GREENSBORO -- After their worst loss in MEAC history on Wednesday, the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team rebounded to earn on a 68-67 overtime home win over Morgan State who was previously undefeated in the MEAC.
Lamont Middleton led the Aggies (7-13, 3-2 MEAC) with 26 points and five rebounds. Richaud Pack added 25 points and eight rebounds on 10-for-10 shooting from the free throw line. Middleton gave the Aggies their first lead of the game, 63-62, on two free throws with 3:19 remaining in overtime. Thirty-five seconds later, Middleton hit two more free throws to put A&T up three. Justin Black responded by hitting his first and only 3-pointer of the game, a step back three from the corner to tie the game at 65.
The Aggies tried to regain the lead as Middleton took a baseline jumper that rimmed out. Pack grabbed the offensive board and was fouled by Cedric Blossom. Pack hit the first free throw, but was called for a lane violation on the second, turning the ball over to the Bears with 1:41 to play. Black came up big again for the Bears as he went baseline to knock down a jumper that gave MSU a 67-66 lead 11 seconds on the clock. The Aggies decided not to call a timeout, instead they raced the ball up the floor as senior point guard Jeremy Underwood spotted Pack racing down the floor. Underwood whipped the pass to Pack who finished over 7-foot-2 Ian Chiles to give the Aggies the one-point advantage.
Black tried to win the game for the Bears in the waning seconds, but ran into Underwood for an offensive foul with five seconds to play. The Bears would get one more chance to win it as Underwood was called for an over-and-back, giving the Bears the ball back with 3.2 remaining. But Anthony Hubbard's layup went under the rim, giving the Aggies the win. Chiles finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Bears (6-10, 4-1 MEAC). Black added 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Bears led 57-54 with 3:56 remaining in regulation. Pack tied the game with a three a minute later. Ian Chiles answered by hitting two free throws with 2:16 remaining to give the Bears a two-point advantage. Seldom used 6-9 center Steven Burrough would come up big for the Aggies as he hit two clutch free throws to send the game into overtime.
Read more at NCATAggies.com.
Daniel, Okoroh Combine to Lead Howard to Win Over FAMU
TALLAHASSEE, FL - James “J-Bird” Daniel scored 28 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and Prince Okoroh added 12 of his 21 after intermission to lead Howard to a 69-62 win over Florida A&M (7-13, 3-4 in the MEAC) at the Al Lawson Center. The win was the Bison’s first in Tallahassee in 14 years and it was the Rattlers first home loss of the season.
A 5-11 freshman guard from Hampton, VA, Daniel appeared out of sorts in the first half, as he took only three shots and made a three pointer during only eight minutes of play. With their leading scorer not in rhythm, Howard (5-15, 3-2 in the MEAC) turned to their team leader, Okoroh, who scored nine points to keep the Bison close before a late Rattler spurt opened up a 33-24 FAMU lead at the half. Jamie Adams (12 points) and Reggie Lewis (8 points) were mostly responsible as they combined for 20 first half points.
Daniel, who came into the game averaging over 21 points per game and was coming off a career-high 33-point effort in the win over UMES, came out a different player in the second half. He hit on eight of 14 shots, three of five from three-point range to lead his team from a nine-point halftime deficit. His four-point play and a two-point basket by Okoroh on a beautiful spin move, completed the comeback and gave the Bison the lead for good at 48-45 with a little under nine minutes remaining.
Read the complete story at HUBison.com.
South Carolina State Rally in the Second Half to Defeat NSU
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – South Carolina State went on a big run to start the second half, and the Norfolk State men’s basketball team was never able to recover in a 73-61 loss to the Bulldogs Saturday evening at the S-H-M Memorial Center.
The teams went into the intermission tied at 29-29, but S.C. State came out of the break on a 16-2 run. The Spartans were able to chip away at the deficit, getting to within five at 48-43 when senior Malcolm Hawkins drained a trey from the left corner with 10 minutes to go.
NSU, though, was never able to get any closer as the Spartans fell to 11-9 overall, 5-2 in conference play.
The Bulldogs (7-13, 3-3 MEAC) hit 16-of-19 from the free throw line in the second half and also connected on 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from the field after the break.
Senior Brandon Goode led NSU with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with 10 rebounds. As a team, though, the Spartans shot just 36.8 percent on 21-of-57 attempts.
Pirates Bounce Back, Roll Past Savannah State
SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Hampton men’s basketball team looked like it felt right at home in Tiger Arena Saturday evening, withstanding a couple Savannah State runs to emerge with an 80-71 win.
The win snapped a two-game skid for the Pirates (9-10, 4-2 MEAC).
Senior forward Du’Vaughn Maxwell led three Pirates in double figures with 21 points on 9-for-18 shooting, and he fell one rebound shy of his third double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Brian Darden added 17 points.
Sophomore guard Breon Key came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points.
A Jyles Smith dunk with 5:12 left in the game cut the Pirates’ lead to 66-60, but Hampton withstood the pressure with a 6-1 run that ended with a dunk from Maxwell to put the Pirates up 72-61 with 2:15 left to play.
Key added a free throw with 1:38 left to give Hampton a 74-63 lead.
Read more at HamptonPirates.com.
Wildcats Trip Up Hawks, 69-63, in MEAC Showdown
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Despite holding a seven-point lead at halftime, the University of
Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team could not hold the advantage, as the Hawks fell to Bethune-Cookman, 69-63, on Saturday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium. The loss was the 31st consecutive on the road for UMES. With the decision, UMES drops to 2-15, 0-5 MEAC and Bethune-Cookman improves to 3-19, 1-6 MEAC.
The seven-point halftime lead was erased in no time by BCU early in the second. The Wildcats opened the frame on a 9-0 run over the first 1:13 to take a two-point lead, 34-32. UMES was unable to take back the lead the rest of the way as BCU was 8-for-10 from long-range in the final 20 minutes. The Hawks were outscored 44-31 in the second.
UMES opened the game down by five after Bethune-Cookman took an 11-6 lead at the 13:56
mark, courtesy of three three-point baskets. The teams would trade baskets for the next two minutes, before the Hawks would go on a 19-7 run over an eight minute span. The push gave UMES an eight-point crutch, 26-18, at the 4:51 mark.
Bethune-Cookman scored four consecutive points to drop its deficit to eight, but the Hawks used a layup by senior Francis Ezeiru (Enugu, Nigeria) to counter with a 6-0 push. UMES held a 10-point lead with 1:34 to go, but a trey by BCU's Clemmye Owens brought the score to 32-25 at intermission.
Read more at UMESHawks.com.