NORFOLK, Va. – The North Carolina Central University men's basketball team opened the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament with an 87-81 victory over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday evening. Senior Fred Cleveland Jr. tied a game-high of 21 points against the Hawks.
Cleveland and fellow senior Emmanuel Izunabor were joined by juniors Keishon Porter and Devin Gordon in the starting lineup along with sophomore Po'Boigh King.
After UMES (9-20) scored the first four points of the game, Cleveland dropped in the Eagles' first points with a three-pointer followed by a two-point jumper.
With NC Central down by four points heading into the first media timeout, Maryland Eastern Shore followed up with a 7-0 run. A floater by junior Timmy Adedire ended the run with a score of 16-8 with NC Central trailing. Senior Ja'Darius Harris got into the scoring column and added two more for NCCU.
Sophomore Josh Smith netted five straight points as the Eagles cut the lead to three as UMES led 20-17 with under 10 minutes to go in the first half.
Smith and Cleveland were both in foul trouble with two fouls each. After sitting for a few, Cleveland came back in making an instant impact. He would make a long-distance shot from beyond the arc and dished out an assist to Porter for another three.
Down by one, NCCU took a 27-26 lead with a made layup through contact by Adedire that earned him a trip to the charity stripe. A made free throw gave the Eagles a two-point cushion.
With the Hawks trading buckets, Harris finished a reverse layup. Free throws from Cleveland and Smith's layup through contact gave the Eagles a 38-34 advantage.
NCCU ended the half up 40-37 on UMES. The Eagles had a 22-16 scoring advantage in bench points in the first 20 minutes. Cleveland led all scorers with 11 points. Adedire and Smith each had eight points.
The second half began with a backcourt violation by the Hawks. King took advantage nailing a jumper inside the arc for his second field goal of the game.
A three-pointer by from UMES' Tyler Mack pulled the game within two points, 44-42. The Eagles answered with a made layup by Porter also drawing the foul and scoring the free throw.
Immediately after the 16-minute media timeout, King scored two threes back-to-back for NC Central giving the Eagles a 54-45 advantage.
The second-half lead would get as high as 12 points before the Hawks began to chip away with five minutes remaining. UMES went on an 11-4 run to get within five points with under two minutes left.
Dionte Johnson of UMES helped the Hawks get within three points twice in the final minutes. NCCU was fouled multiple times with 2:10 remaining on the clock and went 11-of-6 from the line to close out the night for the victory.
King and Adedire each had 17 points for the Eagles. Adedire also grabbed eight rebounds. Cleveland passed for six assists on the evening.
UMES' Johnson finished with 21 points and Devon Ellis put up 18 points for the Hawks.
NCCU (18-12) survived and advanced, winning 87-81 over UMES. The Eagles don't play again until Friday, March 15 facing the winner of Thursday's game featuring No.3 South Carolina State University and No.6 Delaware State University. The Eagles are set to tip off their semifinal game at 8 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
