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| COACH LEVELLE MOTON HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH NCCU EAGLES |
In the fifth meeting between these two programs, the Wolfpack came out strong to take hold to a 7-0 lead following a Ralston Turner three-pointer with 16:47 left in the first frame.
The Eagles chipped away at the small deficit by going on a 14-to-5 run to grab their first advantage of the evening on a Reggie Groves (Raleigh, N.C.) layup with 9:24 remaining.
Over the next 29 minutes, the Eagles never allowed NC State to officially grab the lead back despite the seven ties throughout the contest.
With the NCCU lead teetering around four points, back-to-back free throws by junior forward Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) gave the Eagles its largest lead of the first half at 31-23 with 1:23 left, and saw the maroon and gray take a six-point lead into the locker room at 33-27 following an Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) runner off the left side.
With senior Jeremy Ingram saddled with three fouls in the first 20 minutes, the scoring load quickly moved over to Chapman who stepped it up with his patented floaters and drives to the basket, shooting 5-for-8 from the field, tying his career-high with 12 points to give NCCU the early edge.
The drama skyrocketed in the second half as NCSU cut the margin down to two over the first five minutes only to see junior transfer Jordan Parks (Queens, N.Y.) drill the Eagles first three-pointer of the night to switch momentum back on NCCU's side at 40-36.
NC State tied the game at 46 with 8:56 to go on Cat Barber's layup, firing up the PNC Arena crowd, but the Eagles persevered by scoring the next seven points, highlighted by Ingram's clutch three pointer that forced Mark Gottfried to take a timeout to slow the maroon and gray down.
The Wolfpack returned the favor to knot the game up at 53 apiece with 3:29 left, but missed a golden opportunity to take the lead as Lennard Freeman missed the free throw.
Two minutes later, a long jumper from Alfonzo Houston, and free throws by both Ingram and Chapman saw NCCU up 59-53 with 1:33 to go, and NC State went into desperation mode.
Over the final minute-and-a-half, NCSU quickly chipped the margin down to three at 63-60 with Ingram at the line for two free throws and the score 63-60 with 11 seconds left.
After hitting the first shot from the charity stripe, Ingram missed the second, in which Barber drove the length of the floor, dishing to walk-on Patrick Wallace who drilled a three-pointer from the right corner sending the 9,754 fans in attendance into a frenzy, tying the game at 63-63 with 2.7 seconds left.
Groves half-court heave just missed and the game was sent to overtime.
With the red and white rejuvenated, the Eagles showed true poise by starting the extra session with an 11-0 run. Ingram dropped in nine straight points during that rally as NCCU pulled out front 74-63 with 1:26 left in overtime.
The Wolfpack had no answer down-the-stretch as the maroon and gray pulled away for the 82-72 victory.
For the fourth straight game, Ingram scored 20 points or more finishing with a game-high 29 points for the second straight contest. Ingram went 19-for-21 (90.4 percent) from the foul line in the win. His 19 free-throws are the most by an individual in school history.
The remaining four student-athletes in double figures saw Chapman finish with a career-high 18 points as did Jawara who added 12 points going 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe, while senior Alfonzo Houston ended the night with 12 critical points in the landmark win.
As a team, the Eagles were an unreal 41-for-45 (91.1 percent) as a team in the win that included a perfect 12-for-12 in overtime, while out rebounding the Wolfpack 37-30.
With the victory, NCCU (3-1) has now won three straight contests, earns its first victory over an ACC opponent (Atlantic Coast Conference), while NC State is now 29-1 all-time against members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
The Eagles have no time to rest on their laurels with a quick turnaround as NCCU will compete in the final contest of the 2013 Global Sports Hoops Shootout on Friday night inside the friendly confines of McDougald-McLendon Gym taking on the Mountaineers of Appalachian State at 7:00 p.m.
For more information about NCCU athletics, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.
ESPN Video Highlights: Ingram, NC Central Top NC State In OT
ESPN3 GAME REPLAY
Box Score
GAME PHOTO GALLERY - BUY HISTORIC PHOTOS
By Chris Hooks, Assistant Sports Information Director/Broadcast Media Coordinator
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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