Howard and North Carolina Central had to work a little harder than expected, but they will be facing each other for a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The top-seeded Bison pulled away from No. 5 seed South Carolina State 78-61 while the third-seeded Eagles held off No. 7 Delaware State 59-53 in the MEAC semifinals.
Howard (22-10) jumped out to a 38-24 halftime lead, but the Bulldogs (10-22) started the second half on a 17-5 run, sparked by three three-point shots by Noah Treadwell.
The Bulldogs pulled within two points (43-41), but Howard closed the game on a 35-20 win to return to the championship game after a one-year absence.
Point guard Cam Gillus led all scorers with 25 points (making 14 of 18 free throw attempts) and eight rebounds while Cedric Taylor III (16 points) Ose Okojie (11 points) and Travelle Bryson (10 points) joined him in double figures.
NC Central fought back to take MEAC semis
In the nightcap, Delaware State (8-23) started the game with a 12-8 lead but was promptly outscored by the Eagles (14-17) 24-9 to end the first half.
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North Carolina Central led throughout the second half, but DSU kept it close. A Jalen St. Clair layup with 1:39 to go in regulation pulled the Hornets within 52-51.
However, DelState only scored 2 more points the rest of the way, while a Kyric Davis layup and two free throws each from Jae Slack and Gage Lattimore put the game away.
Davis led all scorers with 23 points for North Carolina Central, making all 11 of his field goal attempts. Kelechi Okworogwo added 15 points for the Eagles.
