Maryland Eastern Shore
Sports

Eagles Drop Close Contest to Maryland-Eastern Shore

Thomas Tripp

DURHAM, NC – The North Carolina Central University Basketball Team (10-9 overall and 3-2 MEAC) just lost at home for the first time in less than a year, silencing the 1,968 fans at McDougald-McLendon Arena.

Senior guard Da’Shawn Phillips (Baltimore, MD) recorded a three-point play at the conclusion of the second half, as Maryland-Eastern Shore (MES) (11-8 overall and 4-1 MEAC) ended the nine-game home winning streak of the North Carolina Central University Eagles by the score of 59-58.

NCCU got on board when center Brendan Medley-Bacon scored on a layup, to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage with 16:15 remaining in the 1st Half. Then, junior guard Justin Wright (Farmville, NC) made a jumper, to extend the lead to a 4-0 advantage with 15:27 remaining in the 1st Half.

The Eagles led as many as 10 points, as they held an 18-8 advantage with 8:41 remaining in the 1st half. Then MES battled back with baskets from Zion Styles, senior guard Kevon Voyles (Cape Charles, VA), and freshman forward Victory Naboya (Temple Hills, MD), to trim the deficit to two with 4:54 remaining in the first half.

The Eagles took a 33-20 lead in halftime by closing out the initial half, with a 15-4 run. At that point, Wright led the Eagles with 11 points and four rebounds with 55% shooting.

During the second half, Da’Shawn Phillips of the Hawks made the first basket at 19:29, to alleviate the deficit to 11 points, as the Eagles still had a 33-22 advantage. The Eagles led as many as 16 points, as the score was 44-28 in their favor with 11:39 remaining. Then, Maryland-Eastern Shore went on a 10-0 run, to alleviate the Eagles’ lead of six points.

It was a hard-fought battle during the remainder of the half, where senior guard Eric Boone (Lexington, KY) made the final bucket for the Eagles, as they held a 58-51 advantage with over a minute and a half remaining.

For Maryland-Eastern shore, they battled back thanks to a three-point basket from Styles, layups from Nathan Pollard, Jr. and Da’Shawn Phillips, as well as a three-point game that sealed the victory for the Hawks, coming from Phillips.

This was the first home loss since the same Maryland-Eastern Shore team came to McDougald-McLendon Arena and defeated the Eagles on Monday, February 21, 2022 by a 79-66 defeat.

For Maryland-Eastern Shore, both graduate guards Zion Styles (Uniondale, NY) and Donchevell Nugent (Newburg, NY) led the team with 13 points each. For the Eagles, Justin Wright led the team with 19 points and Brendan Medley-Bacon added 11 points.

The next game for the Eagles is in Washington, D. C. on Saturday afternoon to face Howard University in a 4:00 pm matchup in Burr Gymnasium.  Maryland-Eastern Shore welcomes in-state MEAC rival, Coppin State at 4:00 pm at the Hytche Athletic Center in Prince Anne, Maryland on Saturday afternoon.