The win breaks the previous mark of 19-straight which was set from Jan. 7, 1989 till Feb. 17, 1990 as the Eagles won the last six home games during the magical National Championship season, then went unbeaten at home in 13 contests in the 1989-90 campaign. This now stands as the new mark on record as there were no home or away designations for games played prior to the 1987-88 campaign in the record books. The maroon and gray are tied with Harvard for sixth in the nation with 20 consecutive wins at home.
NCCU jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first nine minutes aided by the golden touch of Reggie Groves (Raleigh, N.C.) who drilled his first three shots from deep to get the Eagle offense rolling. The maroon and gray led by as many as 13 in the first frame and took that margin into the locker room with a 35-22 advantage.
Bethune-Cookman continued to fight in the second half, mounting a rally through the first three-and-a-half minutes as Malik Jackson's three-pointer cut the margin to single digits at 41-32, but a minute later an Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) three-pointer and a Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) dunk stretched the lead back to 14 at 48-34 with 14:27 to go.
The Wildcats were never able to get it within single digits again as the Eagles used a 14-8 spurt to make it a 20-point ballgame at 68-48 with 4:13 left following Groves' fifth three-pointer of the game.
NCCU rolled from there to upend B-CU 77-54 and earn their ninth straight win on the year. The Eagles dominated in the paint 30-to-18 over the Wildcats, 24-to-10 in points off turnovers, and 12-to-4 in fast break points.
In the victory, NCCU shot an astonishing 9-for-13 (64.3 percent) from behind-the-arc, the best performance from deep since Nov. 29, 2011 when the Eagles shot 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) in a 94-60 blowout win over Southern Wesleyan. The 61.9 percent from the field (26-for-42) is the first game in which the Eagles have shot better than 60 percent since Jan. 8, 2013 as NCCU beat Virginia University of Lynchburg, 97-28, shooting 39-of-65 from-the field (60 percent). The maroon and gray also earned the regular season sweep over B-CU for the third straight season.
Groves led the maroon and gray with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from-the-perimeter, while Chapman recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 assists, along with five rebounds, and two steals. Redshirt junior forward Jay Copeland (Suffolk, Va.) finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and a season-high three blocks in the win.
Bethune-Cookman had three Wildcats in double figures led by Jackson's 14 points, which had the 6-6 senior not fouled out, could have been much more as he caught fire in the second half. Mikel Trapp was limited to six shot attempts and finished with 13 points, while guard Maurice Taylor contributed 10 points in the loss.
NCCU (17-5, 8-1 MEAC) looks to make it 10-straight wins on the year, 21-straight at home on Monday night, Feb. 10, as the Rattlers of Florida A&M University make the trip to the Bull City for an approximate 7:30 p.m. tipoff in McDougald-McLendon Gym. FAMU issued the only defeat in league play to the Eagles at this point back on Jan. 11 (63-60) inside the Lawson Center in Tallahassee, Fla.
Visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon for the latest on NCCU Athletics.
Chris Hooks, Assistant Sports Information Director/Broadcast Media Coordinator
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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