Eagles Survive Nail-Biter Over Wildcats in OT Thriller

DURHAM, N.C. — The MEAC season is winding down, but times like this will not be easy. That also goes for the Eagles of North Carolina Central University (16-13 overall, 12-3 MEAC)

The Eagles survived a tough game against the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman (15-14 overall, 9-6 MEAC) of Daytona Beach, Florida, by defeating them 71-68 in an overtime thriller at McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium.

Eagles head coach LeVelle Moton observed of the Wildcats by stating, “They’re really good. They have all of their pieces and they’re well-coached.” He added, “They’re really competitive and athletic.”

On responding to adversity, Moton insisted “We have to respond to it because it will present itself.” Plus, he added, “It will be critical for us to respond.”

Bethune-Cookman scored the first points when Justyn King scored the first basket, on a slam dunk. It was 2-0 with more than 18 minutes to go in the 1st Half. The Wildcats then followed up with a three-pointer by Senior Wali Parks (Iowa City, IA) with 17:55 in the 1st Half, with Bethune-Cookman leading 5-2.

Junior Deven Palmer put the Eagles on the board with 17:27 in the 1st Half. He completed the game with 6 points.

Wildcat freshman Guard Joe French hit a pair of three-pointers, extending the lead to 18-12 with 12:13 in the 1st Half. French concluded the game with only six points.

The Wildcats took their largest lead of the game when senior guard Malik Maitland drilled a three-pointer with 7:44 in the 1st Half. Bethune-Cookman led 23-15. He was their leading scorer with 17 points, going 6-for-17 from the field.

Maitland then followed up with a layup, which inflated the Wildcats lead to 27-22 with more than 3 minutes to go in the 1st Half.

Eagles redshirt junior Ty Graves hit a three-pointer at the conclusion of the game. The score trimmed BCU’s lead to two, 31-29 at the half. Moton explained, “We did a good job closing the first half thanks to Ty’s three.”

On his observation during the start of the second half, Moton admitted, “We didn’t come out with the necessary energy. We needed some spark and energy and we came through.”

Moton pointed out that the Eagles “Were awful from the three-point line and they have to be better from there.” They went 42% from the charity stripe.

Redshirt senior Jibri Blount (Pittsburgh, PA) finally put the Eagles on top, when he converted two free throws. The Eagles led 50-48 with over seven minutes to go in the 2nd Half. The Senior forward led the Eagles with 19 points, going 7-for-12 from the field.

NCCU trailed by three as late as 30 seconds to go in the 2nd Half, by the score 59-56. Jibri Blount hit a three to tie the game to force overtime.

Redshirt junior CJ Keyser performed a pivotal three-point play, which put the Eagles upfront by the score of 67-64 with more than a minute in overtime.

Moton gave credit to the players by pointing out, “The players were fighting and overcoming precarious conditions.” He also observed of their resiliency by adding, “That’s the sign of maintaining your poise and not panicking. You have to control how to respond to these tough situations.”

The Eagles coach admitted, “The three overtime games aren’t fun to me…They may be to ya’ll, but they’re not fun.”

On their perseverance, he commented, “That’s it’s a beautiful thing and adversity presents itself.”

On his evaluation on the team, he conceded, “You find out who you really are when things don’t go your way.” Plus he added, “You have to unite as one to get a common job done.”

The Eagles will host their arch-rival, North Carolina A&T State University on Thursday, March 5 at 7 PM in McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium, on the campus of North Carolina Central University. It will be a battle of the top two teams deciding the MEAC Regular-Season title.

For the Wildcats, they face their in-state rivals — the Florida A&M Rattlers on Thursday, March 5th at 7:30 PM at Moore Gymnasium. It will be held at the campus of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

(Feature image courtesy of Landon Bost)