Box Score
VIDEO:  Eagles Postgame Report Presented by Tru-Pak Moving Systems (SC State)

DURHAM, N.C. –   An impressive first half shooting effort by North Carolina Central University in its home finale helped lift the Eagles to a 62-54 victory over the Bulldogs of South Carolina State on a Monday night inside of McDougald-McLendon Gym.
 
NCCU came out full throttle, opening the game on a 10-2 run, forcing SC State interim head coach Murray Garvin to take a 30-second timeout just four minutes into the contest.
 
The Bulldogs quickly responded with a run of their own, as a Luka Radovic jump shot silenced the crowd, tying the game at 10-10 with 14:48 left in the first frame.
 
The Eagles pushed their lead back up to five, led by Drimir Ferguson (Bronx, N.Y.) and Davron Williams (Marion, Ind.) who provided a quick spark off the bench.
 
South Carolina State’s Adama Adams drilled back-to-back threes to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the ball game 18-17 with 9:45 left to go in the first half.
 
NCCU once again over-powered the Bulldogs, highlighted by three consecutive thunderous dunks sparking a 17-7 run over the final 9:11 of the half to help the maroon and gray take a 34-22 lead into the locker room.
 
The Eagles shot an impressive 55.6 percent from three point range in the first half, most notably Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) went 2-for-3 from the perimeter and sparked the NCCU run to end the half.
 
Stanton Kidd (Baltimore, Md.) picked up exactly where he left off in the second frame, scoring the first three points to keep the Eagle advantage at 12 at 37-25.
 
A Radovic three-pointer from the top of the key helped the Bulldogs trim the lead to eight at 40-32 with 16:27 left in the ball game.  
 
Through most of the second half the maroon and gray SC State at arms-length, never allowing the visiting Bulldogs to pull any closer than seven points, despite the numerous opportunities.
 
After a Devin Joint layup made it 47-40 with 7:38 to go, sophomore forward Karamo Jawara (Bergen, Norway) dropped in a layup to thwart the Bulldog rally pushing the margin back to nine.
 
Four minutes later, Joint scored another layup to cut the Eagle advantage to nine at 54-45, Jawara stepped up again to spread the margin back to 11 at 56-45 with 3:15 to go.
 
The final nail in SC State’s coffin came with 1:02 to go on a Kidd dunk that put the Eagles up for good at 60-49 sending the ruckus crowd into a frenzy, and sealing the 62-4 win.
 
Two NCCU student-athletes contributed with double figures as Kidd finished the night with 20 points and seven assists, as Ingram chipped in with 14 points.
 
South Carolina State (5-23, 1-14 MEAC) was led by Devin Joint ending the night with 14 points and nine rebounds.
 
Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) finished the night with six assists, pushing his career total to 396. He needs just 13 to tie former Eagle Michael Wright (1980-81, 82-85) for the all-time record of 409.  Chapman needs just four assists to become the second Eagle in school history to record 400 helpers in a career.
 
NCCU (21-8, 14-1 MEAC) will resume action Thursday night as they travel to Hampton, Va. to battle the Pirates of Hampton University in its season finale.  Tipoff from the Hampton University Convocation Center is approximately set for 8:00 p.m.
 
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.