NCCU Drops Fifth Straight vs Florida A&M

Durham, NC—The North Carolina Central University Eagles dropped their fifth straight contest to Florida A&M University in a 65-58 loss. NCCU struggled to convert three-pointers all night, going 5-of-27 from this distance during the contest.

NCCU struggled to convert three-pointers all night, going 5-of-27 from this distance during the contest. The Eagles were strong in the first half despite their poor shooting from distance. NCCU jumped out to a commanding seven point lead early and worked to maintain it throughout the remainder of the first half. Junior guard Alex Caldwell shined in limited action, recording 11 points in 12 minutes of play.

The NCCU defense was locked in throughout the first half, holding A&M to only 25 points. This level of effort did not carry on throughout the game, with NCCU seeming to become complacent as time ticked on. 

 Florida A&M controlled the boards all night, outrebounding Central by a margin of 45-32. A&M pulled in more defensive rebounds than NCCU’s total number of rebounds. The Rattlers also managed to record 18 second chance points during the course of the game.

Jordan Perkins provided a spark off the bench for the Eagles. The Senior guard went a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field in addition to three steals and one assist. 

FAMU fell behind by ten points in the first half, a deficit that would follow them into the halftime locker room. The Eagles entered halftime with a decisive 35-25 lead over their opposition. 

The Eagles couldn’t maintain their lead long enough, however. With a large deficit to begin the second half, the Rattlers were determined to play it out until the end. The Rattlers came out firing and managed to outscore the Eagles 40-23 in the second half.

Florida A&M saw four players reach double figures in the contest with the tandem of M.J. Randolph and Kamron Reaves leading the charge behind a combined 26 points.

Redshirt senior C.J. Keyser struggled from the floor all night for the Eagles with 11 points, eight rebounds, and two assists on a 4-of-16 shooting performance from the field. 

The NCCU Eagles (4-8, 2-5 MEAC) look ahead to an immediate rematch with the FAMU Rattlers (8-10, 7-4 MEAC) on Thursday, March 4 from McDougald-Mclendon Arena in Durham, NC.