2019-20 MEAC Men's Basketball Statistics | MEAC Men's Basketball Notes
NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 7, 2020—With one week of conference play in the books, the 11 MEAC institutions will be back in action for week 10 of the 2019-20 season, looking to either maintain their footing or improve their standing.
This past week saw Florida A&M wrap up 2019 with a 70-68 upset of Iowa State on New Years Eve. That, along with North Carolina A&T State’s win over Mid-Atlantic Christian, led into the first weekend of conference play.
Morgan State and Norfolk State are both 2-0 and atop the standings after the first weekend, while North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T State and Maryland Eastern Shore also won their conference openers and are 1-0.
North Carolina Central’s Jibri Blount was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week after having a 23-point, 11-rebound effort in his team’s lone game of the week, a victory over Florida A&M. Against the Rattlers, he went 9-for-10 from the line and added two steals.
Florida A&M’s Rod Melton Jr. was named MEAC Co-Player of the Week after leading the Rattlers that victory over Iowa State, scoring 20 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals in that contest. He later had 18 points and four rebounds against North Carolina Central and with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists in an overtime loss to North Carolina A&T State.
North Carolina A&T State’s Ronald Jackson was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 16 points, 12 boards and two steals in a 2-0 week that saw the Aggies tally wins over Mid-Atlantic Christian and Florida A&M. Against the Rattlers, Jackson scored 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to go along with a pair of blocked shots.
Bethune-Cookman’s Joe French was named MEAC Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. He played more like an upperclassman than a freshman, as he averaged 19.0 points and 2.5 rebounds as the Wildcats defeated Howard after falling to Norfolk State. In the win over the Bison, French shot 72.7 percent from the field, scoring 25 points and grabbing five rebounds.
On Saturday, Delaware State will host North Carolina Central. Florida A&M will welcome Morgan State to Tallahassee for the Rattlers’ first home game of season after spending the entire non-conference portion of the schedule traveling. Coppin State will visit Bethune-Cookman while Howard will welcome Norfolk State to Washington, D.C. and North Carolina A&T State will travel to Maryland Eastern Shore.
Saturday’s Norfolk State-Howard game will ne streamed live on FloHoops.
The grind of January continues on Monday, with four games on the docket. Coppin State will conclude its Florida swing by taking on Florida A&M, Howard will host South Carolina State, Maryland Eastern Shore will welcome North Carolina Central to Princess Anne, Md., and Bethune Cookman will take on Morgan State.
Among the other top performances of this past week:
Bethune-Cookman’s Cletrell Pope scored a career-high 28 points against Howard as the Wildcats broke the century mark for the first time in league play.
Coppin State’s Koby Thomas scored a career-high 22 points, six boards, and six steals (also a career-high) against South Carolina State in their MEAC opener. Andrew Robinson also had a career-high 19 points on seven-of-15 shooting and six boards. He knocked down five treys.
Howard’s Charles Williams finished with 21 points against Maryland Eastern Shore and 15 against Bethune-Cookman. Williams has now scored 2,087 points during his time on the Hilltop, passing Thomas Trotter for third place in MEAC history behind Tom Davis (Delaware State) and Tywain McKee (Coppin State).
Maryland Eastern Shore head coach Jason Crafton earned his first career win against a Div. I school with a 78-66 win over Howard. The Hawks snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bison, which dated back to 2016.
The Hawks had a season-high 17 assists against Howard.
North Carolina A&T State’s Tyler Maye finished with a career-high 24 points against Florida A&M.