Bethune-Cookman 69, South Carolina State 65 (OT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Leon Redd and Isaiah Bailey each scored 18 points as Bethune-Cookman defeated South Carolina State 69-65 in overtime in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game Saturday in Moore Gym.
Malik Maitland grabbed a defensive rebound and hit a jumper at the other end to give the Wildcats a 63-62 lead with 46 seconds remaining in overtime.
Bethune-Cookman went on to build a six-point lead as Redd hit two free throws, Bailey made one of two from the line and Redd connected on a fastbreak layup.
With four seconds left, a three-point play by Damani Applewhite turned out to be South Carolina State’s only points in the final two minutes of OT.
Coppin State 98, Delaware State 86
BALTIMORE – Coppin State’s men’s basketball team outscored Delaware State 29-4 over the final 5:07 to defeat the Hornets, 98-86 in MEAC action on Saturday night at PEC Arena. The 98 points for the Eagles were a season-high and the most during third-year head coach Juan Dixon’s tenure.
Florida A&M 66, Norfolk State 63
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida A&M University men’s basketball team remained unbeaten at home and snapped a 17-game losing streak to Norfolk State as the Rattlers defeated the Spartans, 66-63, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game on Saturday afternoon at the Lawson Center.
FAMU (11-14 overall, 9-5 MEAC) used stifling defense and clutch shooting to build an 18-point halftime lead and dominate the Spartans from start to finish.
Bryce Moragne tied a career-high with 18 points, going 6-of-10 from the field. He also finished with seven rebounds and one block. Rod Melton, Jr. poured in 15 points, six boards, and two assists, while MJ Randolph and Nasir Core each added 10 points. Randolph dished out a team-high six assists, along with four steals and four boards and Core pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, along with three assists.
Jermaine Bishop, Davante Carter, and Joe Bryant, Jr. each finished with 15 points to pace the Spartans. Bishop added four rebounds. Bryant, who went 6-of-12 on field goals, contributed five rebounds and two assists.
North Carolina A&T State 71, Howard 67
EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team won what looked reminiscent of a tournament game in March.
A familiar opponent took away some of the Aggies best punches and counterpunches to make the Aggies grind out a win possession by possession and that’s exactly what happened as the Aggies defeated the Howard Bison 71-67 Saturday evening at Corbett Sports Center.
The win moves the Aggies to 14-14 overall as they seek their third straight winning season something the Aggies have not done since they had four straight winning seasons from 1990-94. More importantly, the Aggies are now 10-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and hold a half-game lead over N.C. Central (9-3) and Norfolk State (9-3), two teams the Aggies have defeated this season.
The Aggies were facing a Howard (2-25, 0-12 MEAC) that was winless in the conference. Yet, the Bison came to Greensboro with their intentions set on upsetting the first-place Aggies, something lower-seeded teams will be trying to do to the Aggies in Norfolk, Va., in the MEAC tournament next month.
North Carolina Central 74, Maryland Eastern Shore 55
DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University took an early lead and never looked back as the Eagles put up a 74-55 win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday, Feb. 22 at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Prior to the game, NCCU (13-13, 9-3 MEAC) recognized seniors Jibri Blount (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Randy Miller Jr. (Odenton, Md.).
The Eagles got going early as Nicolas Fennell (Bowie, Md.) opened the scoring with a three-pointer, and NCCU hopped out to a 13-2 lead over MDES (5-22, 4-8 MEAC). The Eagles never relinquished the lead for the entirety of the contest and built a lead as big as 21 points on the way to a 74-53 win.
Blount had a double-double after the first 20 minutes of play with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and he went on to build to game-highs of 28 points and 18 boards at the end of the contest. Fennell also was a big contributor for the Eagles with 16 points and five rebounds, and Jordan Perkins (Greensboro, N.C.) pushed out a game-high seven assists with seven points and five rebounds as well. Deven Palmer (Hyde Park, Mass.) helped with rebounding with seven boards and eight points for the maroon and gray.
Courtesy: MEAC
