NORFOLK, Virginia -- North Carolina Central University put the final cap on their MEAC Regular Season Title by earning win No. 17 in-a-row at the expense of ruining Norfolk State University's Senior Night, 76-70, on Thursday night inside Joseph Echols Hall in Norfolk, Va. completing the year 25-5 overall, 15-1 in MEAC.The 25 victories in the regular season are not only the most in the NCAA Division I level for the program, but they are the second most since John McLendon's 1950-51 squad finished 26-5. The 17-straight wins is tied for the second-best streak since the 1987-88 campaign.
NCCU took it to the league's perennial power through the first five minutes of play grabbing hold to a 12-5 lead with 15:07 left after senior Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) drilled one of his two first half trifectas.
Three minutes later, Ingram scored the next five points for the Eagles to give the maroon and gray a 21-8 advantage with 12:12 to go.
With 9:08 remaining in the frame, the Eagles led 27-15 after a Jordan Parks (Queens, N.Y.) layup, Norfolk State started to mount a rally as the Spartans went on a 16-to-7 run to cut the deficit to three at 3 to cut the deficit to three at 34-31 with 1:55 to go.
The Eagles took a 38-35 lead into the locker room, setting the stage for the dramatic second half.
With 16:45 to go, another of Hawkins' Norfolk State school record eight three-pointers tied the game a 42 , but the maroon and gray responded with the next four points, all by Ingram to take a 46-42 advantage.
Marese Phelps drilled a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to make it 46-45with 14:18 left in the game, but that was as close as the Spartans got as NCCU scored the game's next six points to stretch the lead back to seven at 52-45 with 11:09 left.
The maroon and gray stretched the lead back out to 13 at 64-51 on Parks' highlight worthy windmill dunk and the Eagles cruised from there despite the amount of misses from the foul line.
NCCU shot a paltry 16-for-28 (57.1 percent) from the charity stripe in the second half, which was just enough to allow the maroon and gray to pull away for the 76-70 win.
Four Eagles racked up double figures led by Ingram's 19 points as the senior was saddled with foul trouble, followed up by Parks who ended up with 14 points, while point guard Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) scored 13 points, while recording four assists to become the first Eagle in school history to record over 600 career assists. He also set a new single season mark for helpers with 203 on the year.
Norfolk State (17-13, 11-5 MEAC) was led by Malcolm Hawkins who set a new NSU record going 8-for-10 from beyond-the-arc tying a career-high with 31 points.
NCCU (25-5, 15-1 MEAC) will embark on the 2014 MEAC Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. from the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
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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