DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's basketball team claimed a nail-biting victory against Delaware State University winning 75-72 on Monday evening in McDougald-McLendon Arena with the memory of the Hornets ending the Eagles' season in the 2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament.
Senior guard Keishon Porter and redshirt senior guard Isaac Parson combined for 37 points scoring 18 and 19, respectively.
Joining the duo in double figures was junior guard Po'Boigh King (13) and senior wing Timmy Adedire (12).
NCCU (9-12, 2-2 MEAC) played a close game throughout against DSU with 10 lead changes in the first half. Both teams came into Monday's game with identical conference records.
Though Delaware State (8-10, 1-3 MEAC) had the better field goal percentage at the half with 48 percent, the Eagles led 33-31 through the first 20 minutes with Porter leading all scorers with 15 points.
The Hornets came out of the half and went up as much as seven points (44-37) with 15:32 remaining. NCCU stayed in reach, never letting the lead get into double digits.
The score would see-saw throughout the final 10 minutes as the Eagles regained the lead with under five minutes left.
With close to two minutes remaining, DSU's Martaz Robinson hit two free throws, tying the game up for the final time at 69 apiece.
Parson was fouled twice cashing in all four free throws making the game 73-69 with 18 seconds remaining.
After an NC Central timeout, Robinson was fouled as he made a layup and netted the free throw for the Hornets to close the gap 73-72 with the Eagles still on top.
With 10 seconds remaining, Adedire was fouled and headed to the line hitting both shots to close out the game with a 75-73 victory.
The Eagles shot 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) in comparison to the Hornets who finished 29-of-56 (51.8 percent) from the field. The difference was the three-point line and foul shots. DSU missed all eight three-point attempts while NCCU made eight and the Eagles went to the foul line 10 more times than Delaware State.
Four Hornets finished in double figures including their leading scorer for the game Kaseem Watson with 18 points.
The Maroon & Gray will have more than a week to prepare for its next opponent hosting South Carolina State University next Saturday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
