NORFOLK, Va. – North Carolina Central University watched a potential game-winning shot skip to the right in the final seconds and the Eagles were able to hold off the Tigers, 58-56 to advance to the semifinal round on Thursday, March 8 at Scope Arena.
 
NCCU (17-15) has now made it to the semifinal round in back-to-back years, and for the fourth time in program history during the Division-I era.
 
The first half of this game moved at a much faster pace than NCCU's First Round matchup with Coppin State on Tuesday, and both the Eagles and SSU (15-17) traded leads six times and tied the score twice within the first 20 minutes.  Raasean Davis (Chicago, Ill.) was a presence early, as he recorded a first-half double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, but the Tigers held a 34-30 advantage at the break.
 
After the intermission, it was more of the same with the advantage swinging back-and-forth between the two sides.  The critical moment came with 6:46 remaining when Pablo Rivas (Colón, Panama) crushed a right-wing three-pointer that would end up putting the Eagles ahead for good, at 51-50.
 
There was plenty of fight left in SSU, and they had one last opportunity to win the game in regulation with 12 seconds remaining.  However, a three-pointer was missed and a put-back attempt to tie at the buzzer also missed the target and the Eagles survived in a wild finish.
 
Davis finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds, the first 20-rebound performance by an Eagle since David Covington pulled down 21 at Wingate on Dec. 5, 2010.  Rivas also had a double-double with 19 points and 12 boards.  Reggie Gardner, Jr. (Bowie, Md.) made a couple important threes in the contest and he finished with 10 points, and Raekwon Harney (Winston-Salem, N.C.) had a game-high eight assists.
 
The Eagles as a team out-rebounded the Tigers 54-42.  Of note, NCCU held SSU below 60 points for the first time since a 108-52 defeat to Michigan State on Dec. 31, 2017, and are the first MEAC team to accomplish the feat since Hampton defeated the Tigers 89-55 during the 2016 MEAC Tournament.
 
SSU was led by Dexter McClanahan who put in a game-high 23 points and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
 
The Eagles will now face seventh-seeded Morgan State in the Semifinals at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, March 9 for a trip to the Championship Game on Saturday, March 9.