NORFOLK, Virginia – Jeremy Ingram's game-high 29 points coupled with clutch shooting and tenacious defense down-the-stretch was all North Carolina Central University needed to earn its first trip to the NCAA Tournament after taking down third-seeded Morgan State 71-62 in the 2014 MEAC Basketball Tournament Championship Game on Saturday night inside the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
The win gives NCCU 20-straight victories, ties the single season record for wins in school history and ends a 64-year old drought as the Eagles last won a conference tournament championship in 1950.
The 87th meeting between the Eagles and Bears shaped up to be a heavyweight title fight with as the maroon and gray led for most of the frame behind the torrid start by Ingram, as the MEAC Player of the Year, scored 18 points in the first half, while Morgan State's Justin Black was saddled with foul trouble early. The Charlotte, N.C. product finished the first half shooting 7-for-10 from-the-field, including 3-for-3 from three-point range, while Black was 0-for-4 shooting and logged just 10 minutes scoreless with two assists and a turnover.
Despite the foul issues, the Bears used 7-2 Ian Chiles, who caused problems for the maroon and gray through the first half finishing with 10 points, with six ties and three lead changes through the first 20 minutes.
With NCCU ahead 31-29, Morgan State used a last-second shot by Anthony Hubbard to send the game into the locker knotted up at 31 apiece.
In the second half, the Eagles used a Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) three-pointer along with a couple of Alfonzo Houston foul shots around the 17-minute mark to give NCCU a five-point cushion at 38-33, but Chiles willed the Bears back to tie at 39 with a hoop-and-the-harm with 15:41 remaining.
Ingram and the Eagles responded with one of his four three-pointers to take the lead back at 42-39 with 14:39 remaining in the game, but Black returned the favor with a three-point play to tie the game back up at 42 with 13:13 left.
Perhaps the play that turned the momentum in came with on the next possession as Jawara threw down a vicious dunk thanks to a spectacular pass from senior Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) which sent the partisan NCCU crowd into a frenzy.
From that point forward, the Eagles led by as much as seven, but a Blake Bozeman layup made it 52-50 with 5:22 to go, when senior Reggie Groves (Raleigh, N.C.) drilled a step-back three-pointer to stretch the lead back out to five at 55-50 as the Scope erupted.
The final dagger came from the tournament's most outstanding performer with 1:59 left as he drilled a 17-foot jumper to make it 61-54 as the Eagles scored the next 10 points from the foul line and the celebration ensued.
Ingram ended the game with 29 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, while Jawara added 10 points with six rebounds.
As a team, the Eagles shot 26-for-33 (78.8 percent) from the foul line and finished 7-for-13 from three-point range. On the other hand, the Bears were just 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) from-the-outside.
The NCCU defense frustrated Black all night as he ended up with nine points on 3-for-10 shooting as he fouled out of the game. Chiles finished with a career-high 26 points and six rebounds in the loss.
Morgan State (15-16, 11-5 MEAC) ends the year with another loss in the championship game as the Bears have competed in six-of-the-last-seven finals in the conference tournament.
Fifth year head coach LeVelle Moton earned the Tournament's Most Outstanding Coach award as Ingram was also named to the MEAC All-Tournament team, which is listed below:
2014 MEAC All-Tournament team
Jeremy Ingram, North Carolina Central
Pendarvis Williams, Norfolk State
Du'Vaughn Maxwell, Hampton
Justin Black, Morgan State
James Daniel, Howard
Tournament Most Outstanding Performer
Jeremy Ingram, North Carolina Central
Tournament Most Outstanding Coach
LeVelle Moton, North Carolina Central
NCCU (28-5, 15-1 MEAC) will know their fate on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m.as CBS will air the NCAA Tournament Selection Show to announce the 68-team field. Stay tuned to www.NCCUEaglePride.com for updates.
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.
Box Score
Chris Hooks, Assistant Sports Information Director/Broadcast Media Coordinator
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