Complete Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University enters the fourth and final contest of the nearly month-long road swing as the Eagles are currently on a two-game skid after falling to the University of Michigan, 64-44 back on Dec. 14. Following today’s contest against Florida Gulf Coast, NCCU will head into the holiday break and then get back to action in eights days on Dec. 29 against Milligan College to start a four-game home stretch heading into 2011 that includes a home affair against East Carolina on Jan. 3.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Florida Gulf Coast have met on two previous occasions with the Eagles of FGCU taking both matchups. The first meeting took place on Nov. 20, 2008 with Florida Gulf Coast taking the contest 66-58, and last season the visiting Eagles beat NCCU 76-67 on Dec. 16, 2009.
UP NEXT
NCCU returns back to the friendly confines of McDougald-McLendon Gym after the holiday break on Dec. 29 against Milligan College at 7:00 p.m. for the first of four straight home affairs heading into the new year that includes a showdown against East Carolina (Jan. 3- 7:00 p.m.) along with MEAC games against Delaware State (Jan. 8- 4:00 p.m.) and Maryland Eastern Shore (Jan. 10- 7:30).
LAST MEETING
DURHAM, N.C.- (NCCUEaglePride.com)- The second “Battle of the Eagles” between North Carolina Central University and Florida Gulf Coast University saw the host team turn the ball over a season-high 29 times, while junior transfer C.J. Wilkerson (Oxford, N.C.) scored a game-high 26, but it wasn’t enough as the home NCCU Eagles fell for the first time at home, dropping a 76-67 decision on Wednesday night at McDougald-McLendon Gym. Wilkerson’s career-high 26 points led all scorers on the night, eclipsing his previous high of 21 against James Madison University back on Nov. 23 in Miami. That was one of a few positive notes on a night where FGCU earned 21 steals and converted those 29 turnovers into 29 visiting Eagle points. With all that going against the host team, NCCU still had its chances down the stretch. Trailing 66-60 with 4:40 to go in the ballgame, LeVelle Moton’s gutsy squad clawed back with a 5-0 run that cut the deficit to just one with 2:43 left. Fourteen seconds later, sophomore Nick Chasten (Raleigh, N.C.) had a wide-open three in the right corner in front of NCCU’s bench that could have buried Florida Gulf Coast for good. Unfortunately for NCCU, Chasten’s shot was no good, and the visiting Eagles pulled away from there with a 10-2 run and a nine-point win. The first half was another nip-and-tuck battle between two even squads as it was tied up at 39 apiece, but foul trouble crept in on NCCU in the second half and it bit the host Eagles when it mattered the most as, both junior Michael Glasker (Newport News, Va.) and T.J. Granger (Richmond, Va.) fouled out in critical moments of the second half. Both Chasten and redshirt freshman Dami Sapara nearly compiled double-double numbers for the second consecutive game, as Chasten finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Sapara dropped in five points and nine rebounds.
