NORFOLK, Va. – North Carolina Central University enters the semifinal round of the MEAC Tournament for the third time in the Division I era looking for its second championship appearance against fifth-seed Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, March 10 at Scope Arena.
 
NCCU (23-8) won its quarterfinal matchup against Bethune-Cookman 95-60, and shot 54.0 percent from the floor in the victory.  Patrick Cole (Newark, N.J.) led the way with 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, followed by teammate Dajuan Graf (Charlotte, N.C.) who had a team-high 18 points and nine assists.
 
MDES (14-19) survived Hampton at the buzzer, 68-66 in the quarterfinal round to get to this point.  They opened their tournament run with a 75-65 win over 12-seed North Carolina A&T on Monday, March 6.  Tyler Jones (Atlantic City, N.J.) led the Hawks with 23 points and five rebounds, including three made three-pointers.  Bakari Copeland (Decatur, Ga.) pulled down near double-double against NC A&T with 25 points and nine rebounds in the opening round.
 
The winner moves on to the championship which will be televised live on ESPN2 at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 11 at Scope Arena.