NORFOLK, Va. – Making its tournament debut, top-seeded North Carolina Central defeated eighth-seeded Howard, 92-45, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) men’s basketball quarterfinal Wednesday night at the Scope Arena.

MEAC Player of the Year Jeremy Ingram fueled North Carolina Central’s victory by scoring 30 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. He was also 5-for-6 from 3-point distance. Overall, the Eagles shot a torrid 62.1 percent (30-for-49) from the field and 50 percent from 3-point distance (10-for-20).

The Eagles (26-5 overall) had 21 assists on their 30 baskets to advance to Friday’s semifinals where they will play the winner of the Savannah State-Norfolk State contest.

Also reaching double figures for NCCU was Alfonzo Houston (13 points) and Jay Copeland (11 points). In all, 11 players scored at least one point for the Eagles, who raced to a 47-23 halftime lead and never looked back. North Carolina Central’s bench outscored Howard, 29-14. The Eagles scored 36 of their points in the paint.

North Carolina Central raced to an early 12-2 lead less than four minutes into the game. An Ingram 3-pointer with 12:05 remaining in the first half gave NCCU a 19-7 lead. The Eagles’ advantage never dropped below double digits after that. North Carolina Central led, 47-23 at intermission.

MEAC Rookie of the Year James Daniel led Howard (8-25) with 15.