Box Score


NCCU Eagles Postgame Report Bethune-Cookman (Ray Willis and LeVelle Moton)

DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – North Carolina Central University broke open a tight-knit ballgame with a 15-0 second half run, using a game-high 21 points from Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) to propel the Eagles to the 69-64 win over defending regular-season champion Bethune-Cookman University on Monday night inside McDougald-McLendon Gym.
 
In the fourth meeting between these two programs since 1954, the Eagles and the Wildcats came out slugging from the get-go, but it was B-CU who threw the first blow taking a 15-6 lead after  a 12-2 run to charge out in front. 
 
The Wildcats came out scorching from the outside going 4-for-7 early and led 20-11 at the midway point of the first half.
 
Senior guard Tramar Beaman (Williamstown, N.J.) came off the bench after starting point guard Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) recorded his second foul and sparked the maroon and gray by hitting two three-pointers that sparked a 10-2 Eagle spurt to cut the deficit to one at 22-21 with 6:03 left.
 
Bethune-Cookman was able to hold off NCCU and ended up taking a 26-25 lead into the locker room.
 
The second half was back-and-forth over the first four minutes, and that is when the Eagles threw its biggest haymaker of the night.  With the score tied at 34, NCCU went on a 15-0 run to put the Wildcats against the ropes grasping a 49-34 lead with 12:18 left, the largest lead of the night for the Eagles.
 
Bethune-Cookman would not be denied, continuing to fight back even cutting the deficit to single digits on a number of occasions, but the Eagles had an answer all night.
 
The biggest reply came with 2:47 to go, when the Wildcats cut the margin to six and seemed to have NCCU on its heels, but Chapman’s huge three from the right side pushed the advantage back up to nine at 65-56, seemingly ending all hope for B-CU as the Eagles held on for the 69-64 victory.
 
With the win, NCCU (8-8, 2-1 MEAC) earns their first victory over Bethune-Cookman who had won each of the three previous matchups.
 
The Eagles outrebounded the Wildcats 35-26 as Dominique Sutton (Durham, N.C.) recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Junior Ebuka Anyaorah (Suwanee, Ga.) gave NCCU a jolt in the second half with 13 second-half points to aid in the win.
 
Along with Willis’s fourth 20-plus point effort he ended up with seven rebounds, four assists, and a career-high five steals.
 
Bethune-Cookman (5-12, 2-1 MEAC) lost is first MEAC road contest in 11 tries, and recorded its first conference loss since Feb. 7, 2011 against Morgan State.  Garrius Holloman led the Wildcats with 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
 
After the hot start from the outside for B-CU, the Wildcats went 1-for-15 the rest of the way to finish 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from three-point land.
 
Next up for NCCU, the Eagles have the rest of the week off to prepare for a crucial three-game road swing that begins on Monday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. inside Burr Gymnasium against Howard University.  The Eagles beat the Bison last season 79-70 on Feb. 5, 2011.
 
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