FARMVILLE, Va. – North Carolina Central University's men's basketball team wrapped up a three-game road trip at Longwood University with a 77-70 victory at the Joan Perry Brock Center on Saturday afternoon.
Senior guard Keishon Porter finished with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting which included a couple of game-sealing dunks to hold off a Longwood comeback.
Junior guard Po'Boigh King joined Porter in double figures with 16 points. Every Eagle that entered the game scored.
NCCU (5-8) played a tight first half with Longwood as neither team led by more than six points through the first 20 minutes. There were 10 lead changes and six ties as both teams went on runs to keep the game in reach.
Both squads went into the locker room tied at 34 points. King already had double figures scoring 10 points as Porter was close with nine.
The Eagles opened the second half taking the lead and though the game tied up again 41-41 with 15:34 remaining, NC Central quickly scored and never relinquished the lead.
NCCU was up by as much as 11 points with just over two minutes left in regulation. After many attempts by Longwood and three consecutive turnovers by the Maroon and Gray, two fast break dunks from Porter and a free throw from senior forward Timmy Adedire sealed the contest giving the Eagles a seven-point victory.
The leading rebounder for NC Central was junior forward Jaqai Murray with eight boards while redshirt senior Isaac Parson had seven assists, both were game highs.
The Eagles held LU under their average in three different statistical categories where the Lancers rank top 20 in the nation. Coming into the game, Longwood averaged 34.35 bench points for 17th and scored 27 against NC Central. Also 10th in free throw attempts (27.2) and sixth in free throws made per game (20.5), LU went 14-of-23 from the charity stripe.
NC Central will see the Lancers again on Friday, Dec. 20 in Durham, N.C., but will host Mid-Atlantic Christian University first on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
