DURHAM, North Carolina -- North Carolina Central University made Senior Day even more special as the Eagles used another dominating performance to dismantle the South Carolina State University Bulldogs 86-44 in front of 2,414 maroon-clad fans inside McDougald-McLendon Gym.
Despite the early setback as the Eagles found themselves down 9-3 on Jalen White's layup with 16:41 to go, the veteran Eagles used the next five minutes to go on a 14-3 run and take the lead at 17-12.
Senior Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) had it going early and often in the first frame, scoring 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting, 4-of-6 from beyond-the-arc. Ingram also collected a season-high five steals through the first 20 minutes of play.
With the mixture of solid defense as the maroon and gray forced 10 turnovers, a five-point lead ballooned to a 40-24 halftime advantage.
The second half was more of the same as the maroon and gray used a 10-1 run through the first five-and-a-half minutes in the second half to make it 50-25.
It took until the 12:51 mark of the second stanza for SC State to get their first field goal in the second half as Jalen White connected on a layup to make it 59-27.
NCCU's dominance continued the rest of the way, which gave head coach LeVelle Moton the opportunity to send all of his seniors out with a curtain call in front of the Eagle faithful who gave each student-athlete a standing ovation.
The Eagles went to win 86-44 behind Ingram's 25 points and junior Jordan Parks recorded his second double-double of the year with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
As a team, the maroon and gray committed a season-low five turnovers, marking a new record in the NCAA Division I era for the program. In fact, the last time an NCCU team had five or less turnovers took place on Feb. 27, 2003 when the maroon and gray beat Fayetteville State 85-75 in the CIAA Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. That Eagle squad only turned the ball over four times in the opening round win.
SC State (9-18, 5-9 MEAC) struggled mightily from-the-field in the contest, shooting a dismal 28.3 percent going 15-for-53, including 2-for-16 from beyond-the-arc.
With the win, NCCU (23-5, 13-1 MEAC) has now recorded 15-straight victories on the year, 22 consecutive inside McDougald-McLendon Gym dating back to the 2012-13 campaign, and needs one more victory to secure the school's first MEAC regular season title at the NCAA Division I level. The 23 victories are now the most in a season since the 1992-93 campaign (Moton's freshman year).
Next up for the Eagles, the Tigers of Savannah State University, in front of a national television audience as the game will be broadcasted on ESPNU on Monday, March 3 at 7:00 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.
Box Score
Chris Hooks, Assistant Sports Information Director/Broadcast Media Coordinator
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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