NORFOLK, Virginia – For the third time in the 2013-14 campaign, North Carolina Central University used overtime to earn its sixth straight victory after outlasting the host Monarchs of Old Dominion University 76-69 on Tuesday night inside the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va.
The win for NCCU gives its second victory against an opponent from an FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) conference with the Monarchs new to Conference USA and the other being NC State from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A sluggish start found the maroon and gray down 11-5 with 16:09 to go in the first half after Keenan Palmore's jumper, the Eagles responded with 15-9 run to knot the game at 20 with 10:35 left in the first frame.
Over the next seven minutes, head coach LeVelle Moton's squad turned it up a notch going on a 15-6 run to grab a 35-26 advantage, silencing the announced crowd of 5,189.
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Despite early foul trouble for local product Jay Copeland (Suffolk, Va.) and Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) the Eagles prospered due to the spark provided by junior Jordan Parks (Queens, N.Y.) who nearly recorded a double-double in the first half with 12 points and seven rebounds that included a couple of rim-rocking dunks
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NCCU finished the half with its largest lead at 43-30 following redshirt senior Reggie Groves' (Raleigh, N.C.) three-pointer from the right side to take the momentum into the locker room.
Through the first frame the Eagles used the last ten minutes to outscore the Monarchs 23-10, giving them the double-digit lead, the maroon and gray shot a scorching 17-for-26 (65.4 percent) from the field, 3-for-5 from deep.
The second half tested the veteran Eagles' will as the Monarchs started to pick it up offensively while NCCU sputtered a bit.
Slowly but surely, ODU climbed back in the contest cutting the margin to single digits on a Dimitri Batten three-pointer to make it 52-43 with 13:20 left.
After an NCCU turnover, Batten's layup cut the Monarch deficit seven at 52-47 less than a minute later.
Old Dominion kept gnawing away at NCCU's lead forcing Moton to call a 30-second timeout after Aaron Bacote's layup made it a one-point game at 56-55 with 7:14 to go.
After the maroon and gray missed two opportunities to stretch the lead back out, the Monarchs grab their first advantage since the 9:41 mark in the first half on Bacote's drive to the basket to make it 57-56 with 4:47 left in the game.
Senior guard Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.), who started the game 3-for-4 from-the-field fouled out of the contest with 4:31 left in the game and the Eagles up by one at 58-57. After the hot early portion of the game, Ingram went 2-for-10 to finish 5-for-14 from-the-floor with 14 points and four rebounds.
Over the last four minutes, there were three ties and two lead changes, but perhaps one of the biggest shots of the evening took place with the Eagles down three at 61-58 with 3:18 left, when Jawara drilled his first three of the night to knot it up at 61 apiece.
The junior forward gave the Eagles a 63-61 lead with 2:39 left on a layup, in which ODU answered a minute later to tie it up at 63 thanks to Batten's huge putback.
Both teams missed chances over the last minute, including Batten who missed both of his free throw attempts with 52 seconds left. Batten also missed a jumper with time winding down that sent the game into the extra session.
In each of the three contests that have gone to overtime, the score at the end of regulation has been 63 all.
In the extra session, the maroon and gray left no doubt once again after Batten's layup to give the Monarchs their only lead in overtime at 65-63, Jawara's second and final shot from deep gave the
Eagles a lead they would never relinquish after consecutive stops saw Groves and Copeland both drop-in layups to put NCCU up 70-65 halfway through the frame.
The Eagles held the Monarchs to six points in the extra five minutes as Parks put the final dagger in ODU with a hard slam to make it 76-67 in favor of the maroon and gray.
NCCU struggled from-the-field in the second stanza shooting 9-for-28 (32.1 percent) along with a 1-for-6 effort (16.7 percent) from beyond-the-arch.
In overtime, NCCU picked it back up offensively shooting 5-for-6 from-the-field (83.3 percent), while ODU shot a paltry 3-for-8 (37.5 percent).
Four Eagles ended the night in double figures led by senior Alfonzo Houston (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) who shot 7-for-12, scoring 16 points, tying his season-high against Appalachian State.
Jawara contributed a career-high 14 points including five clutch points in overtime, while Parks ended the night with 14 points ripping down eight rebounds in the win. The junior scored 12 of his 14 points in the second frame.
ODU's (4-4) Batten led all scorers as he tied a career-high with a double-double 25 points and 10 rebounds in the third straight loss for the Monarchs.
Free throws were certainly an issue for both teams on the night as the Eagles shot a season-low 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from the charity stripe, while the Monarchs were 8-for-18 (44.4 percent).
With the win in the extra frame, Moton moves to 5-2 all-time in overtime and 53-6 when leading at the half.
Since the calendar turned to 2013, the NCCU men's basketball program has compiled a 22-3 record, winning 10 of their last 11 contests. The Eagles since last January are 10-2 as the road team, while sporting a 12-game winning streak at home.
NCCU (6-1) turns its focus to Saturday, Dec. 7 as the Eagles will battle the Jaguars of IUPUI at 2:00 p.m. from the Jungle in Indianapolis, Ind.
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.
Box Score
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