Box Score

HAMPTON, VA. – Junior Jeremy Ingram’s (Charlotte, N.C.) three-pointer with 41 seconds left in the game gave North Carolina Central University the cushion it needed to hold off the furious rally of Hampton University as the Eagles won 68-64 inside the HU Convocation Center on Thursday night in Hampton, Va.
 
Meeting No. 75 between NCCU and Hampton started out with each team going back-and-forth with six ties and six lead changes, but the maroon and gray outdueled the Pirates by breaking open a contest knotted up at 24 with 3:01 to go by going on a 7-2 run to end the first frame behind five straight points from Ingram, and a layup by junior point guard Drimir Ferguson (Bronx, N.Y.) as the Eagles took a 31-26 advantage into the locker room.
 
NCCU came out in the second half and quickly flexed its dominance spreading the league out to 11 at 39-28 with 16:03 remaining.
 
A Ray Willis original three-point play put the Eagles up by 14 at 42-28 with 14:40 to go, and an Ingram four-point play put NCCU up 18 at 46-28 and the momentum was clearly on the of the visiting Eagles.
 
The maroon and gray advantage grew to its largest state with 12:35 to go in the game when junior Stanton Kidd (Baltimore, Md.) hit a jumper that put the Eagles up 50-30.
 
With 9:09 remaining, the Eagles led 58-40 after an Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) three-pointer, but the Pirates finally broke free from the stingy Eagle defense, as Dwight Meikle scored 11 of his 16 points in the final eight minutes as HU outscored the Eagles 24-10 during that stretch.
 
With 4:52 to go, Meikle’s jumper cut the margin to 10 which sent the 3,921 Pirate fans into a frenzy, which grew even louder on the next offensive possession as Du’Vaughn Maxwell cut the deficit to single digits at 60-52 with a tip-in on Deron Powers’ missed layup.
 
The last Meikle jumper during that run brought Hampton within two at 60-58 with 1:12 to go, forcing NCCU head coach LeVelle Moton to call a timeout.
 
Ingram did his part to help seal the deal with a clutch three-pointer with the shot clock winding down, giving the Eagles a 63-58 lead with 41 seconds to go, sending the Pirate fans into an awkward silence.
 
The maroon and gray hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to hang on and escape with the 68-64 win, securing win No. 22, the most since the 1992-93 campaign. 
 
Kidd led all scorers with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field, while going 7-of-9 from the foul stripe in the win.  Kidd also finished with nine rebounds, while the other two Eagles in double-figures were Ingram with 14 points, and Willis ended up with 13 points.
 
Hampton (14-16, 11-5 MEAC) was led Maxwell and Meikle who both led with 16 points, while Emmanuel Okoroba finished with 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting.  \
 
NCCU (22-8, 15-1 MEAC) has secured the No. 2 in the 2013 MEAC Basketball Championships and will face the winner of the 7/10 matchup (North Carolina A&T/Florida A&M) on Wednesday night at 8:00 inside the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
 
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.