NEWARK – North Carolina Central University hit its first three treys before Delaware State reached five points, and that set the scene for what turned into an 86-53 triumph over the Hornets on Saturday, Dec. 18 at the Prudential Center at the Invesco QQQ Legacy Classic.
 
The 33-point victory for NCCU (6-7) is the sixth-largest margin of victory over a MEAC opponent in the regular season.
 
NCCU sprinted out of the gates by going 5-for-5 from the perimeter to start the game, led by Randy Miller Jr. (Odenton, Md.) who knocked down four of those treys.  Miller went on to knock down five triples in the period, and went to the locker room with 18 points.
 
The Eagles jumped out to a big 12-point lead, but DSU (2-9) found its footing with a 9-0 run to draw within three at 19-16 with just over 19 minutes remaining.  However, the Eagles continued their scoring onslaught, and shot 53.3 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from the arc in the first 20 minutes. NCCU took a commanding 49-24 lead after Justin Wright (Greenville, N.C.) put an exclamation point on the first half with the Eagles' 10th triple of the half with time running out.
 
The Eagles continued to play stifling defense in the second half, and held the Hornets to 26.8 percent from the field over the course of the game.  NCCU built up a 42-point lead at one point, but 33 was the final margin of victory over the Hornets, 86-53.
 
Miller finished with six three-pointers and a season-high 23 points for the Eagles, and both Kris Monroe (Raleigh, N.C.) and Dontavius King (Greenville, S.C.) supplied 16 points.  Monroe pulled down seven boards, and King collected six.  Eric Boone (Lexington, Ky.) propelled the Eagles forward with 13 assists, the most in a game by an Eagle since Jordan Perkins (Greensboro, N.C.) dished out 14 in 2018 against Howard on Feb. 19.  Of note, all 15 eligible Eagles checked into play at least two minutes.
 
Myles Carter (Philadelphia, Pa.) led DSU with 18 points, and Domink Fragala (Chantilly, Va.) poured in 12 points.
 
The Eagles will now head west to El Paso, Texas for the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Dec. 21-22.  The Eagles will open the event against the hosts, UTEP, on Tuesday, Dec. 21, and will then face either Sam Houston State or Bradley to finish the event on Wednesday, Dec. 22.