DOVER, Del. – North Carolina Central University and Delaware State played to a grandstand finish across the street from Dover International Speedway as the Eagles traded a deep three for a determined, driving layup from Jordan Perkins (Greensboro, N.C.) with 1.6 seconds remaining to capture a hard-fought 71-70 win at Memorial Hall on Monday, Jan. 14.
 
NCCU (8-9, 3-0 MEAC) opened the game on an 8-0 run with a big help from Raasean Davis (Chicago, Ill.).  Davis scored the first four points of the game for the Eagles, and in fact connected on his first five attempts from the floor.  Davis went to the half with a game-high 12 points over the first 20 minutes, but the punctuation on the half came from Zacarry Douglas (Landover, Md.) who hit a left-handed hook in the paint right before the lights ignited to send the Eagles to the break ahead of DSU (3-14, 0-4 MEAC),  32-29.
 
Pinky Wiley (Chesterfield, Va.) and Kevin Larkin (Georgetown, Del.) were factors in the first half as they combined to hit three treys, and finished the first period with nine points apiece.  Wiley and Larkin continued their strong play and kept DSU neck-and-neck with the Eagles as they kept hitting threes over the course of the second period.  The pair combined to hit six of the Hornets' nine treys.
 
Wiley was the driving factor for the Hornets as he picked up a loose ball and raced down the court for a layup to put DSU ahead 58-56 with under four minutes to play.  Wiley saved his biggest for the tail end of the game as he hit a deep fade away three-pointer to give DSU a 70-69 lead over the Eagles with just 16 seconds remaining.  However, Perkins had the answer as he drove down the court and spun in a layup off the left side of the glass with 1.6 seconds remaining to close the book on the contest with a 71-70 final.
 
Davis went an incredible 12-for-12 from the floor, his second time shooting 100 percent from the field in the last three games, and finished with a game-high 25 points along with five boards and three blocks.  Randy Miller Jr. (Odenton, Md.) finished with 13 points, and Larry McKnight Jr. (North Miami, Fla.) collected 11 points and eight rebounds.  Perkins rounded his day with nine points, five assists and three blocks in addition to the game-winner.
 
Wiley finished with a big 19 points for the hosts, and Larkin and Saleik Edwards (Winterville, N.C.) both collected 14 points as well.
 
The Eagles will now return home for a pair of games on Jan. 19 and 21 against Coppin State and Morgan State, respectively inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.  Both games will be played following the conclusion of the women's basketball contest that will start at 2:00 p.m.