NCCU knocks off Florida A&M to move to 9-1 in MEAC play
DURHAM, N.C. – Holding on to an 11-point halftime advantage, North Carolina Central University turned the defensive intensity up a notch in the second half, holding the visiting Rattlers of Florida A&M University to 13 points, 5-for-30 shooting (16.7 percent), in the second half en route to a 92-49 blowout victory on Monday night in front of 2,397 fans inside McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
The 43-point victory was the largest margin for an Eagle win since re-joining the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) surpassing the previous mark of 40, which happened on Jan. 22 against the arch-rival Aggies of North Carolina A&T 84-44 in Durham, N.C.
NCCU’s stellar defense shut down FAMU to 0-for-13 from beyond-the-arc in the second half as the Eagles mirrored their second half performance against Campbell on Nov. 18 where the Camels managed just nine points in the frame.
In the win, NCCU held FAMU to 37.3 percent from-the-field, forced 20 turnovers that the Eagles converted into 33 points, outrebounded the Rattlers 38-28, and outscored Florida A&M 13-2 in second chance points.
Jeremy Ingram led all scorers with 17 points on 8-for-17 shooting, while the maroon and gray shot a stellar 53.3 percent (32-for-60), 9-for-18 (50.0 percent) from three-point range. Karamo Jawara tied a career-high with 14 points and recorded a career-best five steals, while redshirt junior Jay Copeland ended the night with 11 points and six boards.
All told, the maroon and gray had 11 different student-athletes score, while Florida A&M’s dynamic duo of Jamie Adams (5-for-14) and Reggie Lewis (3-for-14) struggled offensively in the second combining to go 2-for-19 (10.5 percent) in the final 20 minutes. Adams led Florida A&M (8-16, 4-7 MEAC) with 12 points, while Lewis and Kellum both finished with 10 points in the loss.
The victory sends the Eagles to No. 10 in-a-row and extends the longest home winning streak in school history to 21 games.
NCCU (18-5, 9-1 MEAC) turns its focus to the upcoming MEAC weekend road trip of the regular season as the maroon and gray travel down to Orangeburg, S.C. to battle the Bulldogs of South Carolina State University at 6:00 p.m. from historic Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.famuathletics.com
Williams Carries NSU Past Howard, 75-49
NORFOLK, Va. – Senior Pendarvis Williams scored 25 points to lead the Norfolk State men’s basketball team to a 75-49 victory over Howard on Monday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
Williams hit 9-of-15 from the field and was one of four Spartan players in double figures. NSU improved to 8-2 in conference play, maintaining second place in the league standings along the way, as well as 14-10 overall.
The Spartans held Howard to 15-of-46 shooting (32.6 percent), with freshman James Daniel scoring 25 of the team’s 49 points on 8-of-15 shooting. NSU also thrived off 24 Howard turnovers, outscoring the Bison 25-8 on the night in points off turnovers.
Aside from James Daniel, no other player had more than seven points for the Bison.
Brandon Goode finished with eight points and eight boards for NSU, which outscored HU 28-14 in points in the paint. The Spartans finished 28-of-60 (46.7 percent) from the field, including 8-of-24 from 3-point range, with 19 assists on those 28 buckets.
NSU also had a 39-31 edge on the boards.
NSU will host the first Battle of the Bay this year when the Spartans take on Hampton next Saturday at 6 p.m. at Echols Hall.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.hubison.com
Hawks cannot seal the deal in second half, fall at Hampton
HAMPTON, Va. - It was all UMES for the first 35 minutes of Monday night's contest, but the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team could not seal the deal, as a late charge by Hampton proved to be the difference in a 71-65 loss at the HU Convocation Center.
The Hawks led at halftime for the fourth time in their past five games, but a trend in slow starting second halves saw UMES get outscored by 13 points in the final 20 minutes of action.
Hampton was led by Du'Vaughn Maxwell's double-double effort of 17 points and 14 boards. Maxwell upped his MEAC-best blocked shot tally with five in the game. Ramon Mercado had 13 points with a 3-for-6 effort from long- range. The Pirates had 21 offensive rebounds in the game and outrebounded UMES by ten, 44-34.
Kyree Jones had a game-high 27 points in the loss, including a 12-for-13 clip from the free-throw line. He had made 11 consecutive free-throws at one-point but an errant free-throw late in the game ended up being his first miss since Feb. 1. Hakeem Baxter scored 16 points, 10 of which came in the final three minutes of action. Troy Snyder had seven points and seven boards, while Francis Ezeiru had five boards and two blocks.
The Hawks went to the free-throw line 34 times in the game, the most from a UMES outfit on the road since 2008.
UMES returns home for its 2014 Homecoming on Saturday against Howard at 4 p.m. The 2014 Homecoming contest is the first of three consecutive for UMES as the team plays three games in a five day stretch at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.