NCCU Breaks Slide against Eastern Illinois
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — North Carolina Central University head coach LeVelle Moton didn’t get the win for his 200th game, but the 201st was the charm as the Eagles broke their losing streak with a 57-52 win over Eastern Illinois in the consolation bracket of the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas.
NCCU (4-8, 1-1 MEAC) had lost its last four games, and hadn’t won since Dec. 5 against Maryland Eastern Shore at McDougald-McLendon Arena. This win for the Eagles is also their first win away from Durham.
Jeremiah Ingram put in another strong performance with 13 points and nine rebounds, followed by Pat Cole who contributed 12 points, and Enoch Hood who picked up seven points and five boards.
NCCU returns to McDougald-McLendon Arena to host Montreat on Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com
Late comeback Dooms Pirates Against Nicholls State
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The Hampton University men’s basketball team led in the closing minutes on Tuesday in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic at Orleans Arena, but Nicholls State came back to take an 84-81 win.
The Pirates fell to 4-6 on the season.
Quinton Chievous recorded his third double-double of the season with a game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds, going 11-for-16 from the floor. Brian Darden added 21 points, going 6-for-12 from the floor and hitting three 3-pointers.
Darden has three 20-point games so far this season.
The Pirates shot 50.9 percent (29-for-57) from the floor – including a 58.6 percent clip (17-for-29) in the second half – despite hitting just six of 23 3-pointers. Hampton held a 38-27 edge in rebounding, including 11-6 on the offensive end, and the Pirates held a 15-4 edge in second-chance points.
Nicholls State (4-7) also shot 50.9 percent (29-for-57) from the floor and made 13 of its 26 3-pointers.
Ja’Dante’ Frye led three Colonels in double figures with 21 points.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com
UC Irvine’s Size Too Much for Norfolk State in Loss
EL PASO, Texas—UC Irvine used its superior size to earn an 80-62 victory over the Norfolk State men’s basketball team on Tuesday night in the championship game of the Sun Bowl Invitational.
In the final game of the tournament hosted by UTEP at the Don Haskins Center, the Anteaters outscored the Spartans 28-16 in points in the paint – it had been 22-6 at one point – and held a 47-33 rebounding edge. UC Irvine improved to 10-4 by limiting NSU to 27.6 percent shooting for the night (16-of-58 field goals).
The Spartans (5-8) were led by senior Jeff Short, who tallied 24 points with six rebounds. He shot 9-of-12 from the free throw line, while senior Charles Oliver hit all 10 of his free throw attempts. Oliver added 18 points, while no other Spartan player had more than six.
Mamadou Ndiaye, UC Irvine’s 7-foot-6 center, finished with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with nine boards and five blocks. Luke Nelson contributed 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and drained four of the team’s eight 3-pointers.
NSU will next play its cross-town rival Old Dominion on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. at ODU’s Ted Constant Center.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
No. 24 Utah Cruises by Hornets
Salt Lake City, Utah—The University of Utah showed no letdown from its big victory over defending national champ Duke last Saturday, running past Delaware State 105-58 at the Huntsman Center this evening.
The No. 24 Utes won their third straight game to improve to 10-2 this season. The Hornets fell to 0-12 with one game remaining in a string of nine consecutive road contests.
Kyle Kuzma led four Utah players in double figures with 15 points on six-of-eight shooting from the field. Jordan Loveridge added 14 points for the Utes, hitting four of his five shots from the floor, all from three-point territory.
Freshman guard Devin Morgan was the only Delaware State player in double figures with 14 points, his third straight game with 10-or-more points.
Todd Hughes and Aric Dickerson came off the bench to tally nine points each for the Hornets. Dickerson, playing his first game since Dec. 4, was three-for-five on three-point shots.
The Hornets will wrap up their nine-game road swing at Texas Christian next Monday (Dec. 28). Game time is 8 p.m. Eastern in Fort Worth, Texas.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com
Hawks Top Century Mark against Central Penn
PRINCESS ANNE, Md.—Fresh off a career-high 34 points during a win at American, University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) senior co-captain Devin Martin (Baltimore, Maryland) topped it. Martin put up a double-double 37 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 5 assists and 2 steals in a 115-86 win against Central Penn.
Martin was 14-of-18 from the field and 7-of-10 from behind the arc in 34 minutes on the court.
The victory marked the first the first back-to-back wins of the season for the Hawks (3-10, 0-2 MEAC), who have played 10 of their first 13 games on the road
The point total was the most for UMES since Feb. 18, 1991 during a 117-88 victory against Bethune-Cookman.
Senior co-captain Dominique Elliott added 15 points and 5 rebounds for the Hawks, while junior point guard Thomas Rivera also chipped in a career-high 12 points and a career-high 6 assists.
Bakari Copeland scored 11 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds, while Derrico Peck put up career numbers in points (14) and rebounds (10) and assists (5) to lead the reserves.
After the short Christmas break, the Hawks will travel to St. Joseph's on Dec. 29, UMBC on Dec. 31, Pittsburgh Jan. 2 and Columbia on Jan. 6. They will not return home to the Hytche Center until Jan. 11, when they host Morgan State at 7:30 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com