NCCU Lockdown A&T Aggies to Earn Fourth Consecutive Win

Box Score          Photo Gallery:  NCCU vs. NC A&T

DURHAM, North Carolina  –  North Carolina Central University employed its patented hard-nosed defense along with excellent execution on the offensive end of the floor to earn the most lopsided victory against arch-rival North Carolina A&T in series history by the tally of 84-44 on Wednesday night in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 3,116 in McDougald-McLendon Gym.

The 40-point win for NCCU was the most in a series that dates back to 1930, breaking the previous mark of 35 by the maroon and gray on Jan. 18, 1989 as the Eagles beat the Aggies 75-40 on that day.

NCCU put on one of its finest defensive performances in front of the home faithful, limiting the super talented Aggies to 22.7 percent from the field and only 10 field goals, while turning the ball over 20 times.  This is the second-worst shooting performance by an opponent inside the Eagles' Nest since Nov. 12, 2010 when Johnson and Wales shot 9-for-48 (18.8 percent) from the floor in a 90-30 loss to the maroon and gray.

The offensive struggles began early for the Aggies as they missed their first five shots from the field and managed only four field goals through the first 20 minutes.  NC A&T was able to shoot 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the foul line in the first frame to keep it within striking distance.

With 11:59 to go in the first frame, the Eagles led it 11-5 following senior Jeremy Ingram's (Charlotte, N.C.) jumper but the defending MEAC Tournament champs responded with an 8-5 rally to make it 16-13 after a Bruce Beckford layup with 9:23 remaining.

That's when NCCU stole the momentum from NC A&T as Ingram's three with 5:17 left gave the Eagles a 21-15 lead, which was followed by two Jordan Park's sensational plays that included an original three-point play off of an Aggie turnover to stretch the lead out to 26-15 with 4:33 left.

A&T scored only two points the rest of the half, as the maroon and gray took a 34-17 advantage into the locker room.

The second stanza saw NCCU pick it up where they finished off the first frame immediately stretching the lead out to 21 at 40-19 on a Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) layup with 18:35 left.

NCCU's lead grew to 24 after A&T Jerome Simmons was ejected from the contest following a flagrant foul in which the Eagles used to score five straight points, all by Jawara to make it 49-25 with 15:42 to go.
From that point on the maroon and gray cruised, stretching the margin to 36 at 62-26 with 12:14 to go on Parks' alley-oop dunk and the foul which sent the capacity crowd into a frenzy,

The Eagles went on to win the game 84-44, shooting 19-for-33 (57.6 percent) from-the-field in the second half, scoring 50 points to earn their fourth straight win.

Leading the way for the Eagles, Ingram scored 20 points for the second straight game shooting 7-for-13 (53.8 percent), 2-for-5 (40.0 percent) from-the-outside as the senior has scored in double figures 55 times in his illustrious career.

Despite missing practice much of the week due to flu-like symptoms, Parks finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, shooting 7-for-10 from-the-field in the win.  Jawara added 13 points nine boards, two assists and three blocks, Jay Copeland (Suffolk, Va.) finished with 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks while Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) ended the game with nine points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and two steals.

NC A&T (6-13, 2-2 MEAC) had 10 different Aggies score in the loss led by point guard Jeremy Underwood's eight points on 2-for-5 shooting from deep.

NCCU (12-5, 3-1 MEAC) outscored the Aggies 44-10 in the paint, 23-2 in points off turnovers, and outscored A&T 15-2 in second chance points.  The Eagles move their focus on two another crucial conference test on Saturday, Jan. 25 against Coppin State University at 4:00 p.m. from McDougald-McLendon Gym.

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.
  
By Chris Hooks, Assistant Sports Information Director/Broadcast Media Coordinator
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION