GAME NOTES: NCCU vs. B-CU (PDF)
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University looks to regroup after dropping its first home contest of the season on Saturday, Jan. 7, 62-60, and face the challenge of taking on the 2-0 and defending regular season champion, Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University, who over the weekend won its first road contest of the year in thrilling fashion despite trailing by five with 26 seconds remaining in the game.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Bethune-Cookman are meeting for the fourth time in program history with the Wildcats holding a 3-0 advantage. Last year, B-CU swept NCCU in the regular season series by outlasting the Eagles 67-64 in Durham on Jan. 31, 2011 and on Feb. 28, won 73-60 in the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Eagles are 258-255 against MEAC opponents all-time.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. begins at approximately 6:45 p.m. (EST) on Monday, Jan. 9th and can be seen and heard only online at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. The live video stream can be purchased for $8.95 per game, while the live audio stream is free. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, and hall-of-famer, Joe Simmons, will be on the call live from McDougald-McLendon Gym. Follow the game on twitter as well by following @NCCUAthletics and @NCCUradio and by using the hashtag #NCCUBCU.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY "WILDCATS"
Bethune-Cookman University enters Monday evening’s contest coming off a come-from-behind victory over North Carolina A&T on Saturday, where the Wildcats were down by five (56-51) with 26 seconds remaining. Junior guard Kevin Dukes took over scoring the final eight points including the game winning three-pointer with seven seconds left, propelling the Wildcats to the 59-56 victory. Dukes finished with 23 points, hitting five-of-15 three-pointers in the game. That victory put B-CU at 2-0 in the league and gave them 10-straight road wins in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with eight of those contests decided in the final 30 seconds or overtime. Many of the members of the last season’s regular season championship squad remain but a few new pieces make them just as dangerous as Appalachian State transfer, Anthony Breeze, leads the squad averaging 11.1 points per contest despite playing in only 11 contests. Along with Dukes, 6-6 forward Garrius Holloman are just behind Breeze averaging 10.0 points per contest. Holloman actually recorded a double-double last season in Durham on Jan. 31 in the 67-64 win over NCCU by dropping in 14 points and ripping down 10 rebounds. Breeze and Holloman are going to prove to be tough on the boards for B-CU as Breeze averages 6.8 boards a contest, while Holloman averages 6.4 rebounds a game. Entering weekend play, Holloman was 11th in rebounding, while Breeze does not qualify for the MEAC stats because he is just below the required 75.0 percent participation. If Breeze’s stats did count the graduate student from Greenville, S.C. would be in the top 10 in rebounding and in the top 15 in scoring. At this point of the season, Dukes has hit 36 three-pointers shooting 35.0 percent from the outside. Gravelle Craig has taken the reigns of the Bethune-Cookman program following the departure of head coach Clifford Reed as Craig was named acting head coach over the summer having been associated with B-CU since 2004 mostly as the associate head coach overseeing the development of the Wildcats’ backcourt players amongst other duties. Craig is a 1994 graduate of Cleveland State, and is 5-11 overall (2-0 MEAC) in his first season as a head coach.
UP NEXT
NCCU enters a crucial three-game road swing that could go a long way into shaping up the MEAC standings as the Eagles take on Howard inside Burr Gymnasium on Monday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Five days later the Eagles head back up to Baltimore, Md. for the Saturday-Monday road swing against Coppin State (Jan. 21 at 4:00 p.m.) from the Physical Education Complex and Morgan State from Hill Field House (Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m.).
