Box Score
NCCU vs. Wagner Box Score (PDF)
DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men’s basketball team dropped its first contest inside McDougald-McLendon Gym in the 2012-13 campaign as the Seahawks of Wagner College outlasted the Eagles in a defensive showdown 38-36 in which neither team shot over 30 percent from the field and committed a combined 43 turnovers in the second meeting between the two programs.
The Eagles offensive struggles were apparent from the get-go as the visiting Seahawks jumped out to a 10-4 lead through the first six minutes following a Kenneth Ortiz layup with 14:14 remaining and the maroon and gray did not reach double figures until Drimir Ferguson drilled back-to-back free throws putting the score at 24-10 with 3:17 left.
Head coach LeVelle Moton and his squad picked it up through the final three minutes going on a 7-to-1 spurt that included a falling three-pointer by Alfonzo Houston (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) who was clearly knocked to the hardwood as time was winding down, and the Seahawks took a 25-17 lead into the locker room.
NCCU shot a paltry 5-for-29 (17.2 percent) from the field and committed nine turnovers, but thanks to stellar defense stayed in the ballgame as Wagner turned it over 14 times and shot just 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) in the first 20 minutes.
The second half was a sloppy heavyweight title bout as both offenses still struggled. In fact, Wagner took nearly seven minutes into final stanza before scoring its first field goal as Ortiz hit a layup with 13:07 remaining to keep the maroon and gray at arm’s length at 27-22.
A minute later, junior Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.), who made his first start as an Eagle, drilled his first of two three-pointers on the day to cut the deficit to two.
After WC’s Eric Fanning hit one-of-two free throws, Ingram drilled another three to tie the game up at 28 with 10:48 left. Wagner answered right back as Charlotte, North Carolina native Marcus Burton hit a three-pointer of his own to grab the lead back for the Seahawks at 31-28 with 10:29 remaining.
Over the final 10 minutes, neither team could find an offensive rhythm, but the Eagles simply would not go away. With 5:11 to go Ingram’s jumper cut the margin back to three at 35-32, but neither team would score over the next four minutes until Wagner’s Jonathan Williams hit two shots from the foul line to stretch the lead back to five.
The maroon and gray cut it to one with 10 seconds left after a Stanton Kidd (Baltimore, Md.) jumped but Ray Willis’s (Atlanta, Ga.) running three-pointer as time expired bounced off the rim and the Seahawks held on for the 38-36 win, giving the youngest head coach in the nation, Bashir Mason, his first at Wagner.
WC hit just three field goals in the second half going 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) while the Eagles picked it up in the second half going 7-for-24 (29.2 percent) to fall short in the loss.
Ingram was the lone Eagle in double figures with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, while Jay Copeland (Suffolk, Va.) nearly recorded a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds despite a 4-for-12 effort from the field. Kidd contributed seven points in the loss but was a disappointing 2-for-14 from the field on a frustrating afternoon for the junior transfer.
Along with the low shooting percentages, there were a combined 38 personal fouls called in the game.
Wagner (1-2) was led by Williams who ended up with 11 points and six rebounds, and Burton dropped in 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win for the Seahawks.
NCCU (3-4) looks to recover on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. from McDougald-McLendon Gym in the first of a home-and-home series against the Wolverines of Utah Valley University on Nov. 27.
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