DURHAM, North Carolina -- Morgan State University dominated the first quarter of play then held off a persistent North Carolina Central University squad the rest of the way as the visiting Bears spoiled the Eagles' homecoming celebration with a 34-22 road win in front of a sellout crowd of 11,763 fans packed inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium on Saturday.
Morgan State (2-5, 2-1 MEAC) scored the first 21 points of the game, all coming in the opening 15 minutes. The Bears amassed 155 yards of total offense in the first quarter, compared to just 20 yards by NCCU (3-4, 1-2 MEAC).
The Eagles, who entered the contest with the best turnover margin in the conference, did not help themselves by turning the ball over four times on the afternoon, including twice in the opening quarter that resulted in touchdowns.
NCCU battled back by scoring the next 10 points in the second quarter on a 9-yard run by quarterback Jordan Reid and a 41-yard field goal by Oleg Parent, but Morgan State responded with a 21-yard field goal by Chris Moller with 30 seconds left before intermission to take a 24-10 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Morgan State took advantage of another NCCU turnover to extend its advantage to 27-10 courtesy of a 26-yard field goal by Moller with 3:19 remaining in the third stanza.
The Bears added to the cushion at 10:45 of the fourth quarter with a 14-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Robert Council to make the score 34-10.
NCCU sophomore Adrian Wilkins gave the home fans a ray of hope with a flashy 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to trim the deficit to 34-16 at the 10:29 mark.
With less than six minutes remaining, NCCU back-up quarterback Malcolm Bell engineered a 9-play, 68-yard scoring drive that resulted in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Bell to DeMario Johnson with 4:22 remaining.
On the ensuing drive, Morgan State dashed any chances of a comeback by converting three first downs and running the rest of the game clock for a 34-22 victory.
The Bears finished with 385 yards of total offense, including 288 yards on the ground. Redshirt freshman running back Lamont Brown topped the Bears with 98 rushing yards and a touchdown. MSU quarterback Seth Higgins completed 5-of-8 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game in the second quarter with an injury.
NCCU managed 246 total yards, but only 44 rushing yards. The Eagles also lost 115 yards on an uncommon 13 penalties.
Reid completed 12-of-22 passes for 124 yards, but also threw two interceptions. NCCU senior receiver Lamar Scruggs caught seven passes for 92 yards, while Wilkins had four receptions for 31 yards to finish with 129 all-purpose yards.
NCCU senior linebacker Tazmon Foster, the league's leading tackler, collected a game-high 13 tackles with a sack, while redshirt freshman linebacker Jordan Miles recorded 11 stops and juMSU junior safety Paul Eatman intercepted two passes and tallied five solo tackles, while junior linebacker Cody Acker made four stops, recovered two fumbles and deflected a pass for the Bears.
NCCU returns to action on Oct. 26 to take on Savannah Stativersity in Savannah, Ga.
Box Score
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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