NCCU at Florida A&M Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University has reached the midway point of the conference schedule and sits at an even 4-4 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference following Monday’s 77-46 win over Maryland Eastern Shore. The Eagles get set for a backstretch of the season that will see the maroon and gray on the road six out of the next eight games, starting with the jaunt down to the Sunshine state against Florida A&M University.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Florida A&M have met six previous times with the Rattlers taking the last contest in Durham, N.C. 62-60 on Jan.7. The loss was the first inside McDougald-McLendon Gym for the Eagles on the season. NCCU has won two of the last three meetings after sweeping FAMU last season. The Eagles lead the series 5-1 and are 261-258 against MEAC opponents all-time.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. begins at 3:45 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Feb. 4th and can be heard only online at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network Chris Hooks will call all the action live from the Lawson Center for the entire doubleheader. Fans can also follow the game on twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and @NCCURadio and by using the hashtag #NCCUFAMU.
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY "RATTLERS"
At the midway point of the MEAC season, Florida A&M University is knotted up with the Eagles at 4-4 in the conference for seventh place in the league, currently holding the tie-breaker over NCCU because of the 62-60 victory against the maroon and gray on Jan. 7. In that contest it was Reggie Lewis that had the hot hand as he led all scorers with 22 points that included a 5-for-7 stretch from three-point land in the second half. It was his hot shooting that allowed the Rattlers to go on a 13-3 run and take a 39-36 lead early in the second half. NCCU still had chances to win, but missed five free throws down the stretch including two with 3.7 seconds left in the first home loss of the season. Preseason All-MEAC member Amin Stevens recorded his first double-double of the year against NCCU with 15 pts and 12 rebounds. Coming into this weekend, the Rattlers have won three of their last four including a 68-62 home victory over Bethune-Cookman. The Rattlers were led in the contest off the bench by senior guard Chris Watson who led all scorers with 18 points while Yannick Crowder recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win. In his first season at the helm, Clemon Johnson has compiled a 6-16 record overall. Johnson was a star basketball player at Florida A&M from 1974-78. The Rattlers enters the contest fifth in the league in scoring (65.3 ppg), fifth in three-point percentage (33.2 percent), fifth in rebounding (36.0 rpg), fifth in blocked shots (4.3 bpg), and No. 1 in steals (8.6 spg). Individually, Amin Stevens has not played in enough contests to qualify for the stats, but in ten games the 6-6 forward leads the team averaging 16.2 points per contest and averages 9.1 rebounds. Both would land him in the top five in those categories. Lewis sits 16th in the league averaging 11.7 points a contest, while no. 10 in the league shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range (34-for-89). Standing at 6-9, Yannick Crowder is a beast inside as well averaging 6.9 rebounds to place him ninth in the league. He’s also shooting 47.3 percent from the field putting him in 13th in the conference, while compiling 39 blocks to reside in the fifth slot in the conference averaging 2.0 blocks per affair.
UP NEXT
Following Saturday night’s matchup, the Eagles will make the four-hour trip to Daytona Beach, Fla. to go for the season sweep against the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. NCCU beat B-CU 69-64 back on Jan. 9 in McDougald-McLendon Gym.
