NICEVILLE, Florida -- North Carolina Central University raced out to a 20-point first half lead behind stellar defense as the Eagles dominated Eastern Illinois on the way to a 65-40 victory in the third round of the 2014 Emerald Coast Classic inside Raider Arena in Niceville, Florida.Through the first four minutes, NCCU led EIU 9-5, but an 11-2 spurt overt the next three minutes forced Panther head coach Jay Spoonhour to call a timeout as the Eagles led 20-7 with 12:10 remaining in the first stanza.
Redshirt junior Dante Holmes (Baltimore, Maryland) stormed out with 10 points in the first eight minutes, going a perfect 4-for-4 from-the-field, including 2-for-2 from-deep.
NCCU continued to pressure the Panthers, forcing Eastern Illinois to shoot a paltry 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from-the-field , just 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) from three-point range as the Eagles pulled away for a 40-20 halftime advantage.
Both Holmes and senior forward Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) scored in double figures through the first half as Jawara ended up with 10 points, while point guard Nimrod Hilliardadded four helpers and just one turnover through the first 20 minutes.
The second half was more of the same as the maroon and gray gave Eastern Illinois no chance to comeback as the lead grew to as high as 26 following one of the three three-pointers by senior Anthony McDonald (Aberdeen, Mississippi) to make 57-31 with 11:26 to go in the game.
NCCU (2-3) went on to win 65-40 to end a two-game skid, while EIU (1-5) dropped its fourth straight matchup.
The Eagles outrebounded the Panthers 33-23 and outscored EIU 30-to-12 in-the-paint.
Senior Jordan Parks (Queen, New York) finished the night with 13 points, while McDonald gave the maroon and gray four players in double figures with 11 points in the win.
NCCU will take on the winner of the Northern Arizona/Southern matchup at 2:30 p.m. (EST) for the final round of the Emerald Coast Classic inside Raider Arena on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.
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.
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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