EUGENE, Ore. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – The final day of the 2011 Global Sports Hoops Showcase has an intriguing matchup in its first contest at 7:30 p.m. (EST) as the Eagles of North Carolina Central University take on the Panthers of Prairie View A&M University from Matthew Knight Arena on Thursday.
Both teams enter the tilt 1-1 on the week and can head into the holiday break with two wins in the showcase which would certainly give head coach LeVelle Moton and his squad some much needed momentum considering they’ve been without senior sharpshooter Landon Clement (Raleigh, N.C.) who is out with a foot injury.
The Panthers enter the game at 4-8 on the year and are fresh off giving the host Ducks a scare dropping a 74-66 contest last night in the final game of day two, while the Eagles outlasted a very tough Stephen F. Austin squad with a 65-57 win in earlier action.
Depth is the name of the game for Prairie View, as sixth year head coach Byron Rimm II sent 14 student-athletes out on the floor against Oregon with ten players scoring at least two points in the loss. 6-7 forward Demondre Chapman led the Panthers with 12 points while teammate and leading scorer Jourdan DeMuynck added 10 points. DeMuynck leads PVAMU averaging 11.2 points per contest.
For the Eagles, junior Ebuka Anyaorah (Suwanee, Ga,) led with a game-high 18 points that included 16 in the first frame on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting, 2-for-2 from the outside. Dominique Sutton (Durham, N.C.) recorded his fifth double-double of the year, 17 points 11 rebounds, while Jeremy Ingram sparked the maroon and gray with 11 straight points in the second half to squelch the Lumberjack rally late. Not to be forgotten, Ray Willis ended up with 11 points but tied a season-high with five assists to aid in the win.
This will be the Eagles first meeting against the Panthers, but NCCU holds a 4-6 mark against the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Fans can tune in to Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. beginning at 7:15 p.m. as play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, will set the scene from “The Matt”. While listening to the contest, stay up-to-date on twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and @NCCURadio and by using the hashtag #NCCUGLOBAL
Stay up-to-date with North Carolina Central University Athletics by flying over to
www.NCCUEaglePride.com, the official website of NCCU Athletics.
