BALTIMORE – The North Carolina Central University men's basketball program held its resolve one more time this season, and erased an 11-point deficit in the first half to pick up a 77-74 win over Coppin State on Monday, Feb. 14 inside the Physical Education Center.
 
NCCU (13-11, 6-2 MEAC) has now won four games where it has trailed by 10 points or more, and is now 5-1 in games decided by five points or fewer.
 
CSU (5-19, 4-5 MEAC) grabbed early control of the game, and leapt out to a 14-4 lead over NCCU in the first six minutes.  However, NCCU was able to come together and find a steady rhythm, and eventually put that all together to close the half on a strong run to take the lead.  NCCU outscored CSU, 15-6, in the final 4:29 of the first half, and made all seven of its field goal attempts to take a 37-31 lead to the break.
 
NCCU was able to open up an 11-point advantage of its own in the second half at 46-36, after a trey by Kris Monroe (Raleigh, N.C.) after just two minutes.  But, CSU then rattled off an 11-0 run to tie the game with 15 minutes left; and that included a dunk by Remy Lemovou (Yaoundé, Cameroon) that broke the rim and caused a 25-minute delay for repair.
 
From that point on, there were nine separate lead changes, and no team led by more than five points.  Randy Miller Jr. (Odenton, Md.) hit a game-changing triple with two minutes left to give NCCU a 75-72 lead, and a Monroe steal on the next possession led to a jumper from Justin Wright (Greenville, N.C.) to give NCCU an insurmountable five-point cushion.  Just like the game between NCCU and CSU in Durham, CSU had a chance to change the outcome with time winding down, but a turnover allowed NCCU to take the narrow 77-74 victory.
 
Monroe motored NCCU with his third double-double of the year, and did so by making five treys on the way to a season-high 21 points, and a game-high 11 rebounds.  Wright chipped in 19 points, and Miller poured in 14 of his own.  Eric Boone (Lexington, Ky.) was the fourth player in maroon and gray to hit double-digits, and he put in 10 points with four rebounds, and four assists.
 
Mike Hood (Kansas City, Mo.) led CSU with 17 points, and Nendah Tarke (Gaithersburg, Md.) posted 14 points with five rebounds, five assists, and four steals.  Sita Conteh (Bronx, N.Y.) was also a factor for CSU with 14 points.
 
NCCU will now prepare for two games at home, starting with Delaware State on Saturday, Feb. 19.
 
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