DURHAM, N.C. – After falling in a nailbiter in the first game against Norfolk State University in February, the North Carolina Central University men’s basketball team came out victorious in overtime, 91-87 on Monday evening in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Senior guard Keishon Porter finished with a team-high 24 points and grabbed five rebounds. Po’Boigh King (18), Dionte Johnson (13), Jaqai Murray (10) and Isaac Parson (10) all joined Porter in double figures.
Junior Perry Smith Jr. grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, helping lead the charge as the Eagles outrebounded Norfolk State 35-26.
NCCU (13-17, 6-7 MEAC) has now won two straight games completing its home schedule with a 10-4 record.
The Eagles started the first half fast, gaining a 10-point lead early. The Spartans would tie the game twice in the first 20 minutes before NC Central went into the half with a 38-36 advantage.
The second half wasn’t any different as NCCU would take another double-digit lead up 68-56 with 7:19 remaining before NSU went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to three right before the 4-minute media timeout.
After a 72-72 tie, NSU’s Brian Moore Jr. helped the Spartans take the lead 74-72 after a pair of free throws with under two minutes left. Moore finished the contest shooting 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Back-to-back jumpers from King and Moore kept the deficit at two points for the Eagles until King was fouled and knocked down his only two free throw attempts of the night with 48 seconds remaining. NC Central would get the ball back but a miss by Johnson sent the game into overtime.
A tie with 3:41 remaining in overtime was the closest Norfolk State would come as the Eagles never trailed in overtime. NCCU held a four-point lead four different times until a three-pointer from NSU’s Terrance Jones made things interesting with a score of 88-87 with 27 seconds left.
After the Eagles struggled in regulation at the free throw line, Johnson and Porter combined for 10-of-12 from the charity stripe in bonus time to ice the game as the Eagles won 91-87.
Though NSU finished with a better shooting percentage (57.6 percent) than NC Central (49.2 percent), the Eagles made more three-pointers (9-5) and more free throws (22-14).
Moore led Norfolk State in scoring with 24 points.
The Maroon & Gray wraps up the regular season on the road at South Carolina State University on Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Source: NCCU Athletics/NCCUEaglePride.com
