Box Score
NCCU vs. Eastern Kentucky Box Score

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DURHAM, N.C. –Turnovers were the name of the game as the North Carolina Central University Eagles coughed it up a season-high 22 times as the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky University stayed unbeaten with a 63-57 victory on Tuesday night in McDougald-McLendon Gym.  
 
Through the first eight minutes of the contest, the Colonels jumped out to a 16-6 lead, led by Mike DiNunno’s eight points including two shots from beyond-the-arc.
 
The maroon and gray answered, going on an 11-to-2 run with Alfonzo Houston (Cleveland Heights, O.H.) leading the way off the bench with six quick points. The Eagles went on to tie the ball game at 21 with 3:51 left in the first half.
 
Over the final four minutes though, EKU outscored NCCU 10-to-1 to take away all of the Eagle momentum and a 31-22 lead going into halftime.
 
Through the first 20 minutes the Colonels shot an impressive 12-for-24 (50 percent) from the field and forced the Eagles to 10 turnovers.
 
Coming out of the locker room NCCU was determined to cut into the Colonel lead highlighted by a Ray Willis (Atlanta, G.A.) left handed dunk, this proved to be just the spark the Eagles needed to mount a comeback as the maroon and gray out-worked the unbeaten Colonels going on an 14-to-8 run to cut the margin to four at 39-36 with 15:54 left in the half.  The Eagles could not get over the hump though due to costly turnovers.
 
After the first media timeout of the second half the Colonels came out with stifling defense as they forced the Eagles to another three crucial turnovers.
 
With the score now standing at 45-36, the Eagles tried to mount one last comeback. After a couple of free throws by Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) at the 7:18 mark in the final stanza,  the Eagles cut it to three at 47-44, the smallest deficit since the game was knotted up at 21 the first half.
 
Once again the turnovers resurfaced, allowing EKU to pull away with an 8-to-1 spurt that included two Glenn Cosey three-pointers after the Colonels leading scorer had struggled throughout most of the game.
 
NCCU fought hard till the end, but the mountain was too high to climb and the Colonels held on for the 63-57 win moving to 8-0 on the season.
 
The Eagles were led by junior Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) who contributed a team-high 18 points and Ray Willis who chipped-in with 16 points in the tough defeat.
 
The two top scorers for EKU (8-0) were DiNunno with 21 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, and Cosey who stepped up in the second frame with all 11 of his points finishing 3-for-10 from the field, 2-of-6 from the outside.
 
In other notes of interest, Chapman recorded only one assist on the night and he is now tied with former Eagle James Tucker (1999-2000/2002-2004) for eighth all-time in NCCU history for career assists with 272 helpers.
 
NCCU (5-5 overall, 1-0 MEAC) looks to rebound as they begin a month-long, four-game road trip that begins with the Bulldogs of Drake University on Wednesday, Dec. 19. Tipoff from the Knapp Center is set for 8:05 p.m. (EST).
 
Stay up-to-date with North Carolina Central University Athletics by flying over to www.NCCUEaglePride.com, the official website of NCCU Athletics.