Complete Game Notes (PDF)
The NCCU Sports Network will broadcast the MEAC Tournament Bonus Game only on the internet on Saturday due to a scheduling conflict, but fans are encouraged to tune in beginning at a 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 12 for a special edition of Eagle Gameday presented by the Hilton RTP. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network Chris Hooks and color analyst Joe SImmons will bring all the live action from the Lawrence Joel Colisuem.
THIS DATE IN NCCU HISTORY: (MARCH 12, 1944)
On Sunday morning March 12, 1944, during a time of heated racial segregation, the men’s basketball team from the North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) competed against a squad from the Duke School of Medicine on the campus of NCCU in the first racially integrated college-level basketball game in the South. Due to the illegal nature of this contest, the participants were sworn to secrecy, the gym doors were locked to keep spectators out, and there were no reports published in the local newspapers. While there was a referee and an official scorer, according to the official records, the game never happened. The meeting remained publicly unknown for more than 52 years, until Scott Ellsworth, a Duke University graduate and historian, wrote an article about the historical event that appeared in The New York Times on Sunday, March 31, 1996. “The Secret Game” was born. An internet search of “Secret Game” and Ellsworth will result in several detailed accounts of the milestone, including an online version of Ellsworth’s original article from The New York Times. For the record, the Eagles, utilizing Hall of Fame coach John McLendon’s up-tempo style of play that two decades later revolutionized the game of basketball, defeated the team from Duke by a score of 88-44.
THE GAME
The Eagles of North Carolina Central University will look to end the 2010-11 season on a high note after finishing the conference portion of their schedule 10-5 and ending the regular season with a 15-14 mark, equaling the amount of wins in the three previous years of the transition to Division I. NCCU is 2-0 in “MEAC Bonus Games.”
THE SERIES
NCCU and Savannah State are meeting for the 10th time in program history with the Eagles holding a slight 5-4 edge in the series. These two programs have four times in the previous two seasons with Savannah State win three of the four meetings. However, NCCU won the last meeting on Feb. 6, 2010 65-60 earning head coach LeVelle Moton his first win against a Division I team.
SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY “TIGERS”
Savannah State University enters this weekend’s MEAC Bonus Game with a 11-18 record on the year but the Tigers have faced a brutal schedule during the 2010-11 season with contests against the likes of Dayton, Cincinnati, Indiana, Georgia Tech, Marshall, Clemson, Arkansas State, Southern Miss, Kansas State, and Nebraska name a few. Since Jan. 18 the Tigers are 9-2 after starting the year 2-16 with wins coming against Stetson (50-49), at Longwood (76-67), Arkansas State (67-61), an overtime win over The Citadel (65-61), and a road victory to begin the month of March over Western Illinois (51-47). Senior Jovonni Shuler has been the man that makes them go leading the Tigers averaging 18.3 points a game. The 6-4 guard/forward has led SSU in scoring in 18 games this year, including a 32 point effort at Stetson on Nov. 30, and a career-high 36 points on Feb. 24 against Carver Bible College in a 103-64 win. Point guard Preston Blackmon is second on the roster averaging 12.3 points a game and averages 4.1 assists a game. Sophomore forward Joshua Montgomery has made an impact during his first season seeing action at SSU contributing 10.5 points a game while ripping down 5.6 rebounds per contest. SSU is led by fifth year head coach Horace Broadnax who has compiled a 64-107 record during his time at the university, and has not only changed the attitude of the program, but the perception as well.
UP NEXT
That will conclude the 2010-11 season, as NCCU will be official MEAC members and will be able to compete for championships in the 2011-12 athletic season.
