DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A 12-point halftime lead turned into a second-half deficit, but North Carolina Central University withstood the surge by Bethune-Cookman and the Eagles pulled away for a 65-51 road victory inside Moore Gym on Saturday afternoon.
 
NCCU (19-6, 11-0 MEAC) has now defeated 29 consecutive MEAC opponents, one of the nation's longest streaks against conference foes.
 
The Eagles strolled into the locker room with a 33-21 cushion after the opening 20 minutes. The host Wildcats steadily chipped away at the NCCU's advantage and took a 42-41 lead on a pair of free throws by Brandon Stewart with 11 minutes remaining.
 
The visitors and defending MEAC champions responded just 16 seconds later with a three-pointer by Anthony McDonald for a lead the Eagles would not relinquish.
 
When Stewart's layup pulled B-CU to within one point of NCCU at 7:23, McDonald struck again with a triple from long distance, followed by an alley-oop dunk to Jordan Parks to increase the margin back to 53-47 with 5:34 left.
 
Bethune-Cookman made it a one-possession game at the 4:36 mark, but the Eagles closed out the victory with a 12-1 run to end the game.
 
Parks scored a team-best 16 points, including nine in the second half, to top four double-digit scorers for NCCU. Senior point guard Nimrod Hilliard collected 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots, while McDonald finished with 12 points on four three-pointers, and senior forward Karamo Jawara chipped in 10 points, seven boards and four assists in the victory.
 
Stewart led Bethune-Cookman (8-17, 4-6 MEAC) with 17 points, while Ricky Johnson added 13 points.
 
NCCU, boasting one of the nation's toughest defenses, held the Wildcats to 31.9 percent shooting from the field, including 19.0 percent from three-point range.
 
NCCU hits the court again on Monday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. against Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida.