DURHAM, N.C. – Senior Fred Cleveland Jr. scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the North Carolina Central University men's basketball program to a 112-70 victory over Truett McConnell on Wednesday. NCCU heads into conference play with four wins in a row.
By the 14-minute mark of the first half, the Eagles were up 20-2. Truett McConnell relied on free throws to close the gap. TMU had seven more attempts at the free throw line than NC Central, shooting 15-of-18 at the half.
The largest lead for NCCU in the first half was 21 points as the Bears attempted to catch up the entire game. The Eagles went into halftime up 50-37 with Ja'Darius Harris leading all scorers with 12 points.
Coming into Wednesday's game, the Eagles were the 25th ranked team in the country in three-point defense and NCCU held TMU to 2-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc in each half.
NC Central cashed in on 58 paint points, 39 points off turnovers and had almost half of its point total come from the bench scoring 45.
Three additional Eagles joined Cleveland and Harris in double figures. Harris finished the game with 16 points and six assists, tying Cleveland's assist total as well.
Po'Boigh King netted 15 points while Devin Gordon finished two rebounds shy of a double-double adding 12 points for the Eagles. Keishon Porter didn't miss a shot going 6-of-6 from the field which included a pair of dunks to add to his point total of 13.
KJ Riley contributed 16 points for Truett McConnell followed by Jadon Yeh and Raul Arias-Ortega who both scored 12 points for the Bears.
NCCU opens conference play on Saturday, Jan. 6 hosting Howard University at 12 p.m. The MEAC game will be televised on ESPNU.
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