Game Statistics
BLOOMINGTON, IND. (NCCUEaglePride.com)- The Eagles of North Carolina Central University put themselves in great position to upset the Hoosiers of Indiana University, but 22 turnovers and two small droughts gave IU enough breathing room to pull away for the 72-56 win at Assembly Hall on Tuesday night.
In the second meeting between the two, the first half saw both teams go back-and-forth with 10 lead changes and the Eagles were led 11 points by junior transfer Landon Clement (Raleigh, N.C.). However, the turning point in the first frame saw NCCU trailing by just three at 27-24 following a Clement jumper with 3:11 to go. The Hoosier defense stiffened up and scored the last seven points of the frame, including a halfcourt heave that sent all 11,183 fans in attendance to their feet by freshman Victor Oladipo giving Indiana the 34-24 lead heading into the locker room.
Prior to the first media timeout of the second half, the Eagles went on an 11-4 run themselves that cut the deficit to three at 38-35 forcing IU head coach, Tom Crean, to take a timeout to gather his team. With 11:44 to go in the game a Christian Watford layup stretched the margin back out to 12, but the Eagles clawed their way back to within seven following a C.J. Wilkerson (Oxford, N.C.) three-pointer making it 55-48 with 7:39 remaining.
The turning point in the last half of play occurred with 6:36 left when Wilkerson registered his fifth foul with the score sitting at 57-48. From that point forward, the Hoosiers outscored the Eagles 15-8 increasing its advantage to as high as 20 before the ballgame ended at its final tally of 72-56.
Clement led the Eagles with 17 points, but scored just six of those in the final frame, junior transfer Justin Leemow (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a season-high 15 points and dished out five helpers along a game-high four steals, while Wilkerson finished with 12 points in just 28 minutes of action to lead the Eagles.
Indiana (5-0) has recorded its best start since the 2002-03 season and was led by Watford who finished with 17 points going 9-for-10 at the charity stripe, while Jordan Hulls went three-for-four from the outside to finish with 15 points in the Hoosier win.
NCCU (1-3) increased its road losing streak to 43, and gets back to action this Saturday afternoon (Nov. 27) at 2:00 p.m. against Allen University at McDougald-McLedon Gym. This is the first contest of a two-game homestand for the Eagles.
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