Bethune-Cookman 85, Morgan State 78
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Morgan State fell behind by 13 in the first half at Bethune-Cookman and battled back to eventually take the lead in the final minutes. However, a clutch 3-pointer by Leon Redd proved to be the separation the Wildcats needed to end the Bears upset bid with an 85-78 win Monday night at Moore Gymnasium.
Cletrell Pope showed why he was selected the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year. The 6-foot-9, senior forward finished the night with 29 points (9-11 FG) and had 18 rebounds and four steals.
Morgan State (8-11, 2-2) had four players in double digits, including Troy Baxter who played 36 minutes and finished with 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting and led the Bears with seven rebounds. David Syfax came off the bench and scored 16 points and was 4 of 5 from 3-point territory. Stanley Davis added 12 points and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince had 10.
Morgan State led, 6-2 early on, but the Wildcats reeled off a couple of baskets to give the Wildcats a 9-6 advantage with 14:29 remaining in the first half.
Bethune-Cookman (9-9, 3-1) stretched the lead to 23-12 after an Isaiah Bailey pair of free throws with 6:52 left. After Troy Baxter scored a layup (6:25), the Wildcats responded with a 12-4 run punctuated by a dunk by Justyne King to take a 33-18 lead.
Jordan Preaster scored 7 points to ignite a 10-4 run to give the Wildcats its largest lead of the half at 39-22.
Troy Baxter hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to trim Bethune’s lead to 45-32 at halftime.
North Carolina A&T State 98, Delaware State 77
Dover, Del. (Jan. 13, 2019) — Delaware State trailed by three points early in the second half but failed to get over the hump in a 98-77 MEAC men’s basketball loss to North Carolina A&T in Memorial Hall Monday evening.
Andre Jackson led five NCA&T double-figure scorers with 20 points on 10-for-20 shooting from the field, including three three-point field goals.
Fred Cleveland and Andre Jackson added 13 points each for the Aggies, who won their sixth straight over the Hornets and fourth in a row this season to improve to 7-11 overall and 3-0 in the MEAC.
The loss overshadowed another solid performance by Hornet guard John Crosby, who led all players with 28 points on eight-for-14 shooting from the field, including four three-point field goals (4-9) and eight free throws in 10 attempts.
Crosby topped the 20-point mark for the 10th time in DSU’s 17 games to raise his MEAC-best scoring mark to 22.1 points per game this season. He was ninth among all NCAA Div. I players in points-per- game entering the contest.
North Carolina Central 69, Maryland Eastern Shore 64 (OT)
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – It took North Carolina Central University five extra minutes, but the Eagles were able to finally hold off Maryland Eastern Shore, 69-64 on Monday, Jan. 13 at Hytche Arena.
With NCCU (6-11, 2-1 MEAC) prevailing in the extra period, it snapped three-game overtime losing streak, as the last overtime win was on the road at Jackson State, 67-64, on Dec. 22, 2014.
NCCU and MDES (2-16, 1-2 MEAC) played a tightly-contested first half as both teams stayed within close range with each other, until the Eagles were able to stretch out a 10-point lead. However, the Hawks were able to generate a 7-0 run to close the first half and cut the deficit to three with the Eagles leading 28-25 at the intermission.
MDES was able to make a late comeback in the second half thanks to strong shooting from Ahmad Frost (Cincinnati, Ohio) who scored 11 points, all in the second period along with three three-pointers. Frost was responsible for a driving layup with time winding down in regulation to tie the game at 59.
NCCU outscored MDES 10-5 in the extra period, boosted by a clutch trey by Deven Palmer (Hyde Park, Mass.) and free throws from Jordan Perkins (Greensboro, N.C.) and Mike Melvin (Fayetteville, N.C.).
Florida A&M 65, Coppin State 54
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — MJ Randolph finished with a double-double as the Florida A&M University men’s basketball team completed its home sweep with a 65-54 victory over Coppin State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game on Monday night during Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night
The Rattlers (4-11 overall, 2-2 MEAC), who defeated Morgan State on Saturday afternoon, led by as many as 15 points (26-11) with 45 seconds left in the first half and held Coppin State to just five field goals (17.9 percent), while taking a 27-13 advantage into the break. Florida A&M never trailed in the second half in picking up its second consecutive conference victory.
Randolph finished just one point shy of his career-high with 21 and posted a career-best 15 rebounds, along with a game-high six assists to pace FAMU. Evins Desir added 13 points and four rebounds, while DJ Jones tallied 10 boards, three points, two steals, two blocks, and one assist.
Koby Thomas and Andrew Robinson led Coppin State (4-15, 0-4) with 12 points, while Dejuan Clayton chipped in 11 points.
Courtesy: MEAC
