Complete Game Notes
The NCCU Sports Network will carry both games of Saturday's doubleheader on WRJD 1410 AM beginning at 3:45 p.m. with Eagle Gameday presented by the Hilton RTP. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, will be on the call from the Al Lawson Center from Tallahassee, Fla.
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University hits the road for the final two times in the 2010-11 season as the Eagles embark on a two-game road swing in the sunshine state of Florida to take on both Florida A&M (Feb. 26) and Bethune-Cookman. NCCU is focused with the task of ending the season with a winning record for the first time since the move to Division I.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Florida A&M have met on four previous occasions with the Eagles holding on to a 4-0 advantage in the series. The last meeting took place on Jan. 29 when NCCU held on for a 61-59 win against the Rattlers. Prior to last month’s matchup the last time these two squared off took place on Dec. 27, 1967 in Chicago, Ill. when NCCU beat FAMU 85-69. NCCU is 256-252 against MEAC foes.
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY “RATTLERS”
Back on Jan. 29, Florida A&M traveled up to Durham sporting a 2-5 mark in the league, but since then Eugene Harris’s squad has turned it around as the Rattlers are 5-2 in their last seven MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) games including an impressive 58-55 road victory over Hampton on Monday night at the HU Convocation Center. Not to mention a four-game winning streak through the most of the month of February, with wins over Morgan State (10-3) and Coppin State (9-4) two squads in the league’s top five. The Rattlers had two players in double-figures and both came off the bench. 6-8 power forward Yannick Crowder came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points and backup point guard Brandon Hosley added 10 points in the win for Florida A&M. All told, nine different players scored two points or more for FAMU in the victory. With that win, the Rattlers are back in the thick of the league race at 7-7. Just a half-game behind North Carolina A&T for a top five spot in the league with one more week remaining in the regular season. The Rattlers are led by Amin Stevens who is 11th in the conference in scoring at 13.7 points per game while also fifth in the conference grabbing 7.9 rebounds per game. Stevens also sits in the top ten in field goal percentage sitting in the seventh spot shoot 48.4 percent from the field. As a team, the Rattlers are very good on the defensive end sitting second in the league in steals a game at 8.0 (Avery Moore- 11th (1.4 spg), Stevens- 14th (1.3 spg), while also forcing opponents to shoot just 41.2 percent from the field. Crowder still resides in the top five in blocked shots rejecting 2.2 shots per game sitting fifth in the conference. Florida A&M is the top rebounding team in the league as well grabbing 38.2 boards a game, more than 1.2 rebounds per contest over NC A&T at 37.0 rebounds a game. Guard Rasheem Jenkins is 12th in the MEAC in three-point percentage at 34.6 percent. Jenkins is also in the top 15 in the league in assists dishing out 2.5 helpers per contest. Harris brings a 41-64 record into the contest during his fourth season.
UP NEXT
The Eagles head across the state of Florida for its final road game of the 2010-11 season as NCCU looks for a bit of revenge after falling 67-64 to the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman back on Jan. 31. The Eagles will take on B-CU at the Ocean Center at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28. After the long venture back to the homestead, NCCU will host “Senior Day” on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles beat South Carolina State in overtime on Dec. 4 74-71 ending a 43-game road losing streak.
