Box Score | Updated Bracket

NORFOLK, Va., March 12, 2019--Pauline Afriyie scored a team-high 21 points to lead five players in double figures as North Carolina Central powered its way to an 80-64 win over Delaware State in the opening round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Basketball Tournament at the Norfolk Scope on Tuesday.
               
The win was the school’s first victory in tournament play since transitioning to Div . I.
               
The Eagles (9-21), the No. 9 seed, got off to a slow start and trailed the Hornets (7-21) 14-13 at the end of the first quarter.  Then NCCU started to dictate the tone of the game by going to its decided height and depth advantage inside.  Afriyia, Caira Benton and reserve Kieche White combined for 16 points as the Eagles took a 36-29 lead to the locker room.
              
“The game plan was to inside and to limit their transition game,” NCCU head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom said.  “We had some problems early but Kieche (White) got things going for us and it loosened things up for us.”
               
Afriyie and Bention continued to get to the foul line as the Eagles bolted out to a 70-52 advantage early in the fourth quarter.  Rodneysha Martin (11 points), Zaria Atkins (10 points) and White all chipped in to the bulge.
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Afriyie hit on six of nine from the floor, while converting all nine of her free throw attempts, and grabbed 10 rebounds, had the added task of defending MEAC Player of the Year.
               
“We all came together to contribute to this win,” Afriyie said.  “We knew they were going to go to Pollard and we decided that we all had to help out on her.”
               
MEAC Player of the Year NaJai Pollard, who averaged a double-double on the season, finished with a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds, but the rest of the team shot 14-for-53.
               
“We played hard and gave everything that we had,” Delaware State head coach Dave Caputo said.  “We have been playing with only eight players and other than NaJai, we do not have much height.  We did what we wanted to do and that is get out in transition.  But we did not finish on our attempts and to their credit, NC Central did a great job.”
               
The Eagles shot 96 percent from the charity stripe; Afriyie and Benton were a combined 14-for-14, and NCCU’s bench outscored the Hornets 18-2.
               
By virtue of its historic win, NCCU will take on the top seed and regular season champion, North Carolina A&T on State Wednesday at 12 p.m.
               
“We respect their program,” Stafford-Odom said.  “They have gotten better over the season and pose a real challenge.  But I am confident that we will be ready.”