NCCU Sports Network Doubleheader Link (NCCU at Florida A&M)
NCCU at Florida A&M Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
For the remainder of the 2012-13 campaign, North Carolina Central University will be focused on conference play as the Eagles dive back in to MEAC action with the momentum of a two-game winning streak intact as the maroon and gray head down south to the Sunshine State to battle the Rattlers of Florida A&M University in the first of two league contests in the state on Saturday, Jan 12 inside the Al Lawson Center.
THE SERIES
NCCU and Florida A&M have met seven previous times as the Eagles own a 6-1 advantage in the series that dates back to 1940, despite splitting the matchups last season. The maroon and gray are 2-0 inside the Al Lawson Center and are 269-261 all-time against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
The NCCU Sports Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of Saturday's MEAC doubleheader as play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network Chris Hooks will call the live action from the Lawson Center exclusively on NCCUEaglePride.com beginning at 3:45 p.m. with the Champps Pregame Show. Fans can send Hooks an e-mail at NCCUSN@NCCU.edu or a tweet by following @NCCUAthletics or using the hashtags NCCUMBB or NCCUWBB
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY "RATTLERS"
The Rattlers of Florida A&M University enter this Saturday’s tilt with a 4-11 record on the year with a 1-0 mark in league player after beating Bethune-Cookman 75-67 on Dec. 1. In that contest, junior guard Jamie Adams exploded for 24 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the outside while his teammate Jamari Bradshaw contributed 20 points also went 4-for-6 from three-point range. The Rattlers went 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) as a team from behind-the-arc, while the Wildcats shot a paltry 2-for-14 (14.3 percent) from deep. FAMU is led by second year head coach Clemon Johnson who is currently 14-34 at the helm, 42-108 during his six seasons as a head coach. The Rattlers surprised many in last year’s MEAC Tournament making a run all the way to the semifinals as the No. 11 seed, falling to eventual tournament champion Norfolk State. The Rattlers have been put through the ringer in nonconference action taking on Houston, Arizona State, Arkansas, Clemson, Georgia, Texas Tech, and UCF. Florida A&M is the top scoring team in the MEAC averaging 71.3 points a game, while sitting second in the league in steals averaging 8.7 thefts per game. As a team , FAMU is fourth in the conference from three-point range shooting 31.1 percent. Four student-athletes occupy the top 30 for FAMU led by Adams 14.7 points per game which places him fifth in the league, shooting guard Reggie Lewis is sitting at No. 25 dropping in 10.9 points per contest, Bradshaw is No. 26 in the MEAC averaging 10.8 points while Muhammad Abdul-Aleem is 30th in the league contributing 10.3 points per contest. Bradshaw currently sits fourth in the league in three-point percentage shooting 41.1 percent from behind-the-arc (23-for-56).
UP NEXT
The maroon and gray will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla to battle Bethune-Cookman on Monday night Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. After the weekend off, the Eagles will return home to begin a crucial three-game MEAC homestand against Howard University on Jan. 21 (7:30 p.m.), Coppin State on Jan. 26 (4:00 p.m.), and Morgan State on Jan. 28 (7:30 p.m.).
LAST TIME OUT: NCCU-97, VUL-28 (JAN. 8, 2013)
DURHAM, N.C. – Behind 24 forced turnovers, a season-high 12 three-pointers, and four student-athletes in double-figures the North Carolina Central University men’s basketball team cruised to the 97-28 victory over Virginia University of Lynchburg earning it second consecutive win on Tuesday night at McDougald-McLendon Gym in Durham, N.C. The 28 points allowed by NCCU is the lowest point total since the early portion of the 1947 season when the Eagles beat St. Augustine’s 75-28. Junior Antonin Galaya (St. Martin, French West Indies) caught fire from the outside hitting a season-high six three-pointers and finishing with a game-high 18 points in the win. Entering play on Tuesday evening, Galaya had only hit five shots from the outside and had only scored 15 points on the year. The maroon and gray defense was stifling from the tip-off as the visiting Dragons failed to get on the scoreboard through the first eight minutes and 21 seconds of the game as the Eagles led 13-0 and VUL started the game 0-for-10 from the field. Devon McKoy’s three-pointer with 11:39 left in the first frame marked the first basket for the Dragons putting the score at 13-3. With 6:55 to go in the first frame, junior Alfonzo Houston’s hoop-and-the-harm gave NCCU a 24-9 lead and launched junior point guard Emanuel Chapman into the record books. Chapman became the fifth Eagle to record 300 career assists, as the Raleigh native ended the night with 10 assists, his seventh double figure performance during his illustrious career. Over the final 4:23 of the first half, the Eagles went on a 14-0 run that included three shots from behind-the-arc by Galaya that sent NCCU into the locker room with the 43-11 lead. Head coach LeVelle Moton and his squad kept the pedal to the medal in the second half shooting 69.7 percent from the field (23-of-33) and used the same defensive pressure to outscore the Dragons 54-to-17 in the final stanza as the Eagles soared to the 97-28 victory. The maroon and gray were also a scorching 7-for-10 (70 percent) from three-point range in the second half as well. Along with Galaya’s effort, three other Eagles scored in double figures as senior Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) shot 6-for-10 from the field to end up with 16 points and five rebounds, as junior Stanton Kidd (Baltimore, Md.) recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) scored a career-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. VUL (9-14) was led by Egor Shakhmetov’s 13 points as the seven-footer was the lone Dragon in double-figures in the loss.
CHAPMAN JOINS 300 ASSIST CLUB (5TH EAGLE TO DO SO)
In his third season at NCCU, Emanuel "Poobie" Chapman has made a name for himself as a talented distributor and the record books have taken notice. With his 10 helpers in the 97-28 win over Virginia University of Lynchburg, the Raleigh, N.C. native became the fifth Eagle in school history to record 300 career assists. Chapman currently has 307 career assists at NCCU and needs just six to tie Kevin Thompson (1984-87) who is fourth all-time with 313 assists. The school record for assists is currently held by Michael Wright (80-81, 82-85) who collected 409 assists in his maroon and gray career. Wright finished 43 assists ahead of Bryan Ayala (2005-09) who ended up with 366 in his time at NCCU.
