Box Score
Photo Gallery: Special thanks to Dale Stelz and WSU Sports Information
WICHITA, KAN. – In the first matchup for North Carolina Central University against a nationally-ranked foe this season, the Eagles gave Wichita State University plenty to worry about with senior Jeremy Ingram's (Charlotte, N.C.) career-high 37 points as the No. 9/11 Shockers outlasted the maroon and gray in the 77-66 win at Charles Koch Arena on Sunday evening.
The entire NCCU squad did not arrive in the Wichita area until 4:45 p.m. on Sunday afternoon because of a flight cancellation in Atlanta, Ga. which left the team stranded. After three different flights carrying the team and support staff finally all reached its destination, the Eagles headed straight from the airport to the arena, with no excuses in tow.
Despite all that, the maroon and gray were in a back-and-forth battle from the get-go with the Shockers through the first four minutes trailing by five at 8-3 following two free throws from Cleanthony Early with 16:08 left.
An Ingram layup made it 12-9 in favor of Wichita State with 13:24 to go, but the Shockers responded with an alley-opp dunk by Early that drew a foul on Ramon Eaton (Vallejo, Calif.) putting WSU up 15-9.
A minute later, the first of Ingram's career-high seven three-pointers cut the deficit to three at 15-12.
An Alfonzo Houston (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) layup and another Ingram three put the score at 21-19 with 7:08 left in the first frame, and the 2013 Final Four participants responded with a 15-0 run over the next five minutes to put the Shockers up 36-21 with 2:25 to go in the frame.
During Wichita State's scoring spree, the Eagles missed three shots, went nearly six minutes without a field goal, and turned the ball over four times to give the host Shockers momentum and the capacity crowd of 10,506 plenty to cheer about.
NCCU shot 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) from-the-outside, and went 0-for-5 from the foul line, while WSU went 9-for-13 (69.2 percent) from the charity stripe and outrebounded the Eagles 23-to-11.
The maroon and gray took a 16-point deficit into the locker room at 40-24, but came out in the second half brimming with confidence as Ingram started it off with a bang, drilling a three-pointer and drawing the foul, which prompted a 6-0 run out of the gates, and cut the margin to 10 at 40-30 with 18:48 left.
With 16:58 left in the game, the Eagles cut the margin to single digits at 44-36 on yet another Ingram shot from deep, but a Fred VanVleet layup 49 seconds later put the margin back up to 10.
The Eagles simply did not go away as they cut it back down to eight at 54-46 with 8:24 to go, only to see the Shockers respond with a Nick Wiggins corner three-pointer to make it 57-46 with 8:07 left.
Five minutes later, Ingram's three-pointer from the Shockers' logo made it 68-60, and a minute later Emanuel Chapman's (Raleigh, N.C.) lone three-pointer attempt of the night sailed through the net to cut the WSU advantage to seven at 70-63.
With their backs against the wall, the maroon and gray challenging, the Shockers did not budge as Ron Baker sealed the deal with his third and final shot from behind-the-arc to pushy it back to a double-figure lead at 73-63 and Wichita State pulled away for the 11-point win at 77-66.
Ingram led all scorers on the night with his career-high 37 points, 27 of those came in the second half, joined a group of five former Eagles (MarQus Johnson, Shawn Ray, Michael Hadley, LeVelle Moton, and Landon Clement) to hit seven three-pointers in a game.
Wichita State was led by four in double figures as Darius Carter led with 19 points in first career start, while Wooden and Naismith Award nominee Early recorded a double-double 16 points 10 rebounds. Baker ended up with 15 points, while VanVleet had 14 points in the win.
Chapman ended the night with seven points, nine assists, and a steal to place him in a tie for No. 8 all-time with Jimmie Walker in the career steals list with 127.
Junior Jordan Parks (Queens, N.Y.) grabbed seven rebounds to lead NCCU, while Eaton scored six points and grabbed three rebounds in his Eagle debut.
NCCU (7-3) will enjoy the holiday break before getting back to action on New Years' Eve against the Maryland Terrapins from the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) at 2:00 p.m. from the Comcast Center in College Park, Md.
For more information about NCCU athletics, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.
