NORFOLK, Va. – North Carolina Central University fell in both regular-season meetings with North Carolina A&T, but the Eagles were able to avenge those results with a 65-63 win over the Aggies on Friday, March 15 at Scope Arena to advance to the MEAC Tournament championship game for a third consecutive year.
 
NCAT (19-13) was able to get out to an early lead, but NCCU (17-15) wouldn't let them get ahead by much.  In fact, neither team led by double-digits for the entire contest, with much of it contended at a spread of four points or fewer.  The Eagles were able to gain some momentum in the first half on the back of an 8-0 run to take a 21-18 lead with 5:25 to go in the first period, and went to the break ahead 28-24.
 
Over the course of the game the lead changed hands 11 times, with many of those happening in the second half as the game reeled back and forth.  The Eagles got some clutch threes down the stretch from Randy Miller Jr. (Odenton, Md.) and Larry McKnight Jr. (North Miami, Fla.) and Raasean Davis (Chicago, Ill.) defended the paint and made some critical free throws as well to help the maroon and gray to a 65-63 final.
 
NCCU made six treys as a squad, and Miller earned 17 points, and Davis collected a game-high 19 points with six boards.  Zacarry Douglas (Landover, Md.) continued his steady productivity with eight points and eight rebounds, and McKnight finished with nine points.
 
Kameron Langley (Greensboro, N.C.) and Terry Harris (Dix Hills, N.Y.) both put up a team-high 14 points with five rebounds, however Langley added on 10 assists for a double-double.  Ibrahim Sylla (Harlem, N.Y.) was the third Aggie in double-digits with 10 points.
 
The Eagles will battle top seed Norfolk State for a trip to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m. at Scope Arena. The game will be broadcast live on the NCCU Sports Network, as well as ESPN2.