DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University went back and forth with Florida A&M to win a tight contest for its 10th consecutive win in a 78-73 victory on Monday, Feb. 13 at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
This is the third time in the Division I era that NCCU (19-6, 10-1 MEAC) has been on a 10-game run, the last run was during the 2014-15 season for 10 games from Feb. 2 to March 11.
The Eagles found themselves down early to FAMU (7-18, 5-7 MEAC) as the Rattlers opened the game on a 9-3 run, but the Eagles rallied to tie the game and then capture the lead at 10-9 with 14:40 remaining in the half during a 12-0 run, and held on to the advantage for most of the half from there. However, the Rattlers closed the half on a 17-5 run over the last nine minutes and held a 33-31 lead at the break.
NCCU was able to open things up in the second period, as the Eagles held a 10-point lead on multiple occasions. FAMU continued to fight down the stretch, however the Eagles were able to keep the Rattlers at bay for the win.
A big factor the Eagles was
Patrick Cole (Newark, N.J.) who scored over 20 points for the third consecutive game with a game-high 22 points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists. This is the second time Cole has scored over 20 in three or more games in a row, he did so during a four game stretch in the 2015-16 season which included his first career 30 point game.
Dajuan Graf (Charlotte, N.C.) contributed 26 points with four rebounds and four assists, and Del'vin Dickerson (Houston, Texas) had 15 points with six boards and two blocks and a steal.
Kyle Benton (Long Beach, Calif.) once again flirted with a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds with eight points.
Desmond Williams (Altmore, Ala.) was the top scorer for FAMU with 18 points and five rebounds, followed closely by Justin Ravenel (Lithonia, Ga.) with 17 points, and Marcus Barham (Melbourne, Fla.) who had 11 points and six assists.
NCCU heads back on the road to visit Maryland Eastern Shore and Howard on Saturday and Monday, Feb. 18 and 20.
