Box Score

Rashawn King's First Collegiate Bucket vs. UMES


PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – A 10-0 start through the first three minutes was all the ammunition North Carolina Central University needed en route to an 82-54 victory over the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday night at the W.P. Hytche Athletics Center in Princess Anne, Md.
 
The Eagles bolted out to the early advantage and never looked back as the maroon and gray have put together the longest winning streak since the 1996-97 season when NCCU won its first eight games out of the gates.
 
After the 10-0 start the host Hawks seemed to settle in cutting the margin to eight at 13-5, but the Eagles went on an 8-to-4 spurt to stretch the lead to 12 at 21-9 with 11:54 to go.  During that stretch, three different players hit three-pointers.
 
Throughout the remainder of the first half, the Eagle defense forced the Hawks to shoot 33.3 percent from the field hitting just nine field goals, while going three-for-12 from three-point range.  The maroon and gray also took full advantage of nine first-frame turnovers as NCCU scored 18 points off those turnovers to gain the early lead.
 
At the end of the first 20 minutes, the Eagles led by 21 at 47-26, shooting an astonishing 14-for-24 from the field that included a mind-boggling 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) from three-point range.  To add icing on the Eagles first-half cake, NCCU went 12-for-14 (85.7%) from the foul-line. 
 
Junior Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) continued his hot shooting from beyond-the-arc in the first frame finishing with 12 points while going 3-for-4 from downtown.
 
Senior Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) was just as fiery from the field going 2-for-3 from-the-outside.
 
The second half was more of the same as junior Alfonzo Houston’s (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) three-point play put the Eagles up 26 at 58-32 with 14:08 to go in the game. 
 
The NCCU advantage hovered around that number for the rest of the game, in fact, the Eagles led by as much as 29 at 78-49 with 2:36 remaining after two Drimir Ferguson (Bronx, N.Y.) free-throws.
 
The most exciting basket of the night took place with 26 seconds left in the game when inspirational freshman Rashawn King (Raleigh, N.C.) recorded his first collegiate basket to cap the scoring for the maroon and gray on the night.
 
Houston led all Eagles with an NCCU career-high with 17 points that including a 9-for-9 outing from the foul line.  Ingram and Willis scored 13 points apiece, while junior Stanton Kidd (Baltimore, Md.) ended the night with 12 points on five-for-seven shooting. 
 
As a team, the Eagles ended the night shooting 52.0 percent (26-for-50) from the field and scored 28 points off of turnovers, outscored the Hawks bench 35-to-17, and 32-to-24 in the paint.
 
UMES (1-17, 1-7 MEAC) had two players in double figures led by Troy Snyder’s double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Kevin Mays ended up with 15 points while spending most of the night in foul trouble.
 
NCCU (15-7, 8-0 MEAC) returns home to battle the Rattlers of Florida A&M University on Saturday afternoon as the Eagles will host the next two contests inside the friendly confines of McDougald-McLendon Gym.  Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m.
 
Stay up-to-date with North Carolina Central University Athletics by flying over to www.NCCUEaglePride.com, the official website of NCCU Athletics.