Isaac Parson probably never thought he’d have something in common with Kawhi Leonard.
But in the MEAC men’s basketball quarterfinals, the North Carolina Central guard had a buzzer-beater similar to Leonard’s from the 2019 NBA playoffs.
Parson dashed up the Norfolk Scope floor, around Muneer Newton and scooped a layup that bounced around the rim and in as time expired to give the Eagles a 79-77 win over No. 3 Delaware State and a trip to the MEAC conference semifinals.
Parson’s last-second shot capped a crazy Thursday night session that saw both higher seeds go down in defeat.
Central (14-18) led for much of the contest, including by 10 (53-43) early in the second half, but Del State (16-14) made a run. Led by Newton and grad student guard Martaz Robinson, the Hornets chipped away until Robinson swished a three-pointer from an impossible left corner angle to tie the game at 77 with 7.8 seconds to go.
Following a Central timeout, Parson (8 points) took the inbounds pace, raced to the right side, went baseline around Newton and flipped up a shot that hit the rim several times before it dropped.
ISSAC PARSON BUZZER BEATER FOR NCCU!!! WHAT A SHOT!!! @NCCU_MBB
Credit to (@SuperEricRogers)
— SSN – College Basketball (@SSN_CBB) March 14, 2025
Perry Smith Jr. led the Eagles with 22 points, Po’Boigh King added 21, and Jaqai Murray contributed 10 for NCCU, who will now go on to face South Carolina State in Friday’s semifinal nightcap.
Newton led all scorers for Delaware State with 27 points, Robinson scored 20 in his final collegiate game, and Robert Smith and Kaseem Watson added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Central-DSU game had a tough act to follow as Morgan State ended Howard’s two-year reign as MEAC champions, but not before they nearly gave it away.
The Bears (14-17) trailed at halftime, but turned on the jets in the second half, led by senior guard Kameron Hobbs. Hobbs scored 24 of his game-high 33 points after the break and Morgan State led 86-71 with 2:52 remaining.
Howard (12-20) responded with a 19-3 run, capped by a Cameron Shockley-Okeke three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining. After Morgan State called a timeout with 16 seconds left, it was Hobbs again to the rescue with a drive into the teeth of the Bison defense and made an off-balance floater with 9 seconds to go.
Howard rushed down the floor, but two close shots didn’t fall, and Morgan State advanced to the semifinals. They’ll play top-seed Norfolk State on Friday night.
Hobbs was joined in double figures by Will Thomas and Daniel Akitoby, who scored 14 points each. MEAC newcomer of the year Blake Harper led the Bison with 28 points, Shockley-Okeke scored 17, Anwar Gill added 15, and Marcus Dockery and Anwar Gill contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
DOWN GOES HOWARD!!!!!!
#5 @MSUBearsMBB beats #4 Howard 91-90z
They advance to the semifinals to play #1 Norfolk State.
Kameron Hobbs had 33 points. Hobbs hit the go head lay-up to win the game for Morgan. pic.twitter.com/JQDS0KeCEs
— Liv (@livforhoops) March 14, 2025
