2019-20 Regular Season
North Carolina Central (0-0, 0-0 MEAC)
at
Stephen F. Austin (1-0, 0-0 Southland)
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019 – 2:30 p.m. CT
William R. Johnson Coliseum – Nacogdoches, Texas
TV: ESPN3
Audio: Q107.7
Stats: SFAJacks.com
 
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
 
STARTING FIVE:
1. NCCU begins its 87th season of men's baketball with over 1,200 wins.
2. Coach Moton will coach his 11th season with NCCU, and is just the third coach in program history with 10+ seasons.
3. NCCU will face seven opponents for the first time during non-conference play.
4. NCCU went 5-9 in non-conference play during the 2018-19 season.
5. NCCU is 14-1 at home during non-conference play since 2016.
 
SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS
Stephen F. Austin went 14-16 last season and missed the NCAA tournament, however they have made four tournament appearances since 2014, the same as NCCU.  The Eagles and Lumberjacks have met once before, during the 2011 Global Sports Hoops Showcase in Eugene, Oregon.  The Eagles won that matchup, 65-57, during NCCU's first established year rejoining the MEAC.  SFA's leading returner is senior combo guard Kevon Harris, who started all 30 games last season and averaged 17.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game to earn a Preseason All-Southland First Team nod.  The Lumberjacks as a team were predicted to finish fourth in the preseason poll.  SFA opened its season with an 89-70 win over LeTorneau, and Harris helped lead his crew with 18 points and eight rebounds alongside a double-double from Gavin Kensmil with 15 points and 10 boards.
 
LAST FIVE VS. SFA
12/21/11........................ at 2011 Global Sports Hoops Showcase                                        
             .......................... 65-57 W
 
MEAC TOURNAMENT THREE-PEAT
NCCU has won the MEAC Tournament for the third consecutive year, and became the first MEAC school to clinch three-straight bids since North Carolina A&T won seven consecutively from 1982-88.  The Eagles have now captured the tournament crown for the fourth time in the eight years that they have been eligible for the MEAC Tournament since transitioning to Division I.
 
 
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1989
NCCU recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of its 1989 NCAA Division II National Championship, where it defeated Southeast Missouri State, 73-45, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in the title game that still stands to this day.
 
TWO'S COMPANY
NCCU returns just two starters from the 2018-19 club, Randy Miller Jr. and Jordan Perkins.  In total, four Eagles come back for the 2019-20 campaign, including Jibri Blount and Nicolas Fennell.  Perkins and Miller contributed 559 of the Eagles' 2,429 points last year (16.4 ppg), and with Blount and Fennell the quartet comprised 856 points last year (25.2 ppg).
 
THREE'S A CROWD
Miller and Perkins both landed on the Preseason All-MEAC list, along with Blount for their contributions to the Eagles' 2019 tournament championship run.  Miller earned second team honors after averaging 13.3 points per game and finished top-10 in the MEAC by shooting 37.1 percent from the arc with 66 made triples.  Blount averaged 10.1 points and 4.4 boards off the bench last year, and reached a season-high with a 34-point explosion at Howard.  Perkins averaged 4.3 assists per contest and finished sixth in the MEAC in that category, and also was ranked fourth in the league with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Perkins also motored the Eagles with a team-high 125 assists, and a team second-most 25 steals.
 
RED-HOT RANDY MILLER JR.
Randy Miller Jr. lit up the scoreboard on a three-game tear of scoring 20+ points, starting against Morgan State on Jan. 21 through the game at Savannah State on Jan. 28.  He put up a season-high 27 against the Bears, 21 against North Carolina A&T, and 22 at Savannah State.  Over that stretch, he averaged 23.3 points per game, shot 62.2 percent from the floor (23-37), and 60.9 percent from the arc (14-23).