DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University men's basketball team hosted South Carolina State University on Saturday evening, winning 82-77 in a close game at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Junior Po'Boigh King finished with a game-high 25 points and six rebounds. King went 11-of-13 from the charity stripe and 6-of-10 from the field.
Senior Keishon Porter and junior Perry Smith Jr. also finished in double figures scoring 17 and 16, respectively.
NCCU (10-12, 3-2 MEAC) earned its tenth win of the season and has now won three consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games.
Head coach LeVelle Moton knew coming into the matchup that SC State would present a tough bout.
"South Carolina State is a really good basketball team; that's a tough team," said Moton. "This was going to be a battle of attrition; by any means necessary the tougher team was going to prevail."
Heading into the half, the Bulldogs were up 39-38 on the Eagles. King already had 16 points in the contest by then.
The final half of basketball was comprised of nine lead changes and six ties. The last time the two teams were tied was 52-52 with 11:56 remaining. On the next possession, SCSU regained its last lead by as much as three before the Eagles rallied back.
With 8:11 in regulation, NCCU took back the lead as SC State tried to inch back closer, but NC Central never relinquished the lead.
"I thought we made significant plays at significant times down the stretch," said Moton. "We got some critical rebounds and made some crucial free throws."
The Eagles went 8-of-10 from the free throw line with under two minutes to go as Smith, King and junior Jaqai Murray scored at the line. King netted the final four free throws for NC Central to seal the game.
SCSU (9-11, 3-2 MEAC) had four players in double figures including Mitchell Taylor with a team-high 16 points. Two of those scorers, Drayton Jones and Florian Tenebay, fouled out in crunch time.
The Eagles will have over a week to prepare for Norfolk State University as NCCU travels to Echols Hall on Feb. 3. The game will be televised on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
