Eagles Evade Upset-Minded Hawks

PRINCESS ANNE, MD. – Despite connecting on just six second-half field goals, junior Karamo Jawara’s (Bergen, Norway) layup with 42 seconds left and clutch free throw shooting down-the stretch gave North Carolina Central University the cushion it needed to earn its eighth straight win in a hard fought contest, 66-62 over Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday night inside the Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md.

Over the final 6:21, the maroon and gray went 7-for-8 at the foul line not including two missed free throws with five seconds left with the game in hand.  In fact, over the final four minutes, the stingy NCCU defense held UMES without a field goal, outscoring the Hawks 5-to-2 to earn the win.

The Eagles and the Hawks were both scorching hot from the field in the first half and even though NCCU took the early lead, UMES came right back at the first place Eagles taking an 11-10 lead with 13:20 to go in the first frame on MEAC Rookie of the Week Hakeem Baxter’s layup.

NCCU answered with a 7-0 run capped off by redshirt senior Reggie Groves’ 25-foot three-pointer forcing Md. Eastern Shore head coach Frankie Allen to take a timeout. 

Read more at NCCUEaglePride.com.

Pirates Fall to Morgan State in Double Overtime

BALTIMORE, Md. – Despite resiliency and a hard fight, the Hampton University men’s basketball team suffered its first conference road loss on Monday, falling 94-92 in double overtime to Morgan State in Hill Field House in front of a national ESPNU audience.

The Pirates fell to 11-11 overall and 6-3 in MEAC play.

Senior forward Du’Vaughn Maxwell, the reigning MEAC Defensive Player of the Week, led the Pirates with 25 points and 11 rebounds, going 9-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-11 from the free throw line.

Sophomore guard Deron Powers added 15 points, while sophomore guard Brian Darden chipped in 11 points.

The Pirates led by as many as 10 in the second half, going up 48-38 with 14:58 left in regulation after a pair of free throws from Powers. But Morgan State went on a 17-4 run to take a 55-52 lead at the 10:14 mark after a 3-pointer from Justin Black.

The Bears’ lead grew to seven, as Morgan State took a 65-58 lead with 3:35 left in the second half after a free throw from Anthony Hubbard. But the Pirates clawed their way back, seizing momentum as the clock wound down – culminating in a 3-pointer at the top of the key from senior guard Ramon Mercado with 3.5 seconds left to tie the game at 70-70.

Black’s buzzer-beater on the other end was off the mark.

Read more at HamptonPirates.com.

Trapp’s 33 Points Leads Wildcats to Victory over S.C. State

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Mikel Trapp scored a career-high 33 points to lead Bethune-Cookman’s record shooting night in Monday’s 91-59 victory over South Carolina State.

The Wildcats set school records in shooting 70.7 from the field (29-41) and hitting 15 of 18 from three-point range, putting them alongside BYU and Manhattan for the nation’s best single-game three-point shooting percentage. BYU went 10-12 against Texas on November 25, and Manhattan was 10-12 against Columbia on November 12.

Trapp, who was scoreless when the teams met January 20,  was nearly perfect shooting, making 9 of 10 from the field, 7 of 7 from 3-point range and 8 of 9 from the free throw line.

Bethune-Cookman (5-20, 3-7 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) used a 22-4 run, during which the team hit four 3-pointers, to open up a 24-9 lead with about 9 minutes to play in the first half.

A 3-pointer by Trapp nearly 2 1/2 minutes later sparked a13-0 spurt, extending the Wildcats' advantage to 26 with just fewer than 4 minutes before the break.

BCU took a 48-22 lead into halftime and led by 36 twice in the second half, 74-38 on two Tony Kynard free throws with 9:11 and 77-41 on a Clemmye Owens three-pointer with 8:23 left.

Malik Jackson, who had five three-pointers, added 19 points and Kynard finished with 10 points and five assists. All eight Wildcats scored.

Jordan Smith paced SCSU (8-14, 4-5) with 10 points.

Read more at BCUAthletics.com.

FAMU holds on for 54-51 win over Savannah State, Monday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Feb. 3) - The Florida A&M Men’s Basketball picked up their eighth win of the season with a 54-51 win over Savannah State, here Monday night at the Al Lawson Center in the a Mid-Eastern Athletic Contest.

With the win, FAMU snaps SSU’s five-game win streak against the Rattlers and FAMU Head Coach Clemon Johnson his first ever win against the Tigers of Savannah State.

SSU jumped out to a 13-7 lead on a Terel Hall layup with 11:03 to go in the game.

Reggie Lewis would give the Rattlers their first lead of the game with a made three pointer with 1:08 left in the first, capping an 18-10 run by FAMU.

A Devein William jumper with 41 seconds left to tie the contest at 25-25.

FAMU would finish the first half shooting 32.1 percent (9-of-28), while SSU shot 31.0 percent (9-of-29).

SSU opened the second half with a 6-0 run, capped off by a Harel jumper with 16:19 left in the contest. 

FAMU would tie the contest at 43-43 on a Lewis jumper with 6:31 to go in the game, capping a 7-4 run by the Rattlers.   The Rattlers would then extend their lead to 47-43 with 2:13 left in the game capped off by a Jamie Adams free throw.

Read the full story at FAMUAthletics.com.

Howard Defeats North Carolina A&T

Washington, DC—James “J-Bird” Daniel scored a game-high 23 points and Prince Okoroh added 11, but it was the contributions from some unusual suspects that proved to be the difference as Howard University defeated North Carolina A&T, 68-60 in a foul-plagued Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s game at Burr Gymnasium.

Daniel, who came into the game averaging 21 points per game, set the tone in the first half as he scored 15 of his points that helped the Bison (6-17, 4-4 in the MEAC) take a 31-28 lead at the half.

The Aggies (7-16, 3-5 in the MEAC) began to rotate different players on the freshman guard and it proved to be effective as he missed four his five shots.  It was then that Howard began to get contributions from some unexpected places.  Freshman forwards Tyler Stone and Solomon “Solo” Mangham and freshman guard Kofi Andoh combined to pick up the slack, scoring 20 points and 12 rebounds among them in the second stanza.

The Aggies managed to stay within striking distance due to the efforts of Lamont Middleton, who tallied 11 of his team-high 16 points in the second half.  But they missed some free throws during some crucial moments.  There were a total of 62 fouls called and 82 free throw attempts.  The Bison connected on 21 of 26 after intermission while the Aggies managed 13 of 21.

Read the full story at HUBison.com.