Perry Smith Jr.
Doug Burt
78
N.C. Central NCCU 10-13,3-3 MEAC
81
Winner Norfolk St. Norf 16-8,6-1 MEAC
N.C. Central NCCU
10-13,3-3 MEAC
78
Final
81
Norfolk St. Norf
16-8,6-1 MEAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
N.C. Central NCCU 37 41 78
Norfolk St. Norf 37 44 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Smith Nets Career-High as Eagles Fall in Final Seconds at Norfolk State

NORFOLK, Va. – The North Carolina Central University men's basketball team dropped a nail-biter 81-78 against Norfolk State University at Echols Hall on Monday evening after the Spartans connected on a long-range three with 2.2 seconds remaining.

NCCU forward Perry Smith Jr. had a career-high 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Po'Boigh King (15), Keishon Porter (10) and Isaac Parson (10) also scored in double figures.

The back-and-forth affair led to a 37-37 halftime score. Smith was already up to 14 points through the first 20 minutes.

NC Central (10-13, 3-3 MEAC) was up by 10 points in the second half at 70-60 with under seven minutes to go. The contest was tied 16 times with 10 lead changes.

After a 5-0 run by Norfolk State cut NCCU's lead to five, senior Timmy Adedire hit a big three as time was expiring on the shot clock.

Norfolk State (16-8, 6-1 MEAC) continued to chip away at the lead with contested layups and free throws down 75-74 with just over two minutes remaining.

Adedire hit another three-pointer for a 78-74 advantage with 1:36 on the clock. That would be the final field goal for the Eagles after two straight turnovers in two of the final three possessions. NCCU only turned the ball over nine times.

With a score of 78-76, NSU's Brian Moore Jr. scored the final five points, including the go-ahead three-point heave with 2.2 seconds left. Moore finished with a team-high 19 points.

NC Central received the ball back with 0.4 seconds remaining but would have to get the ball up full court and were unable to put a shot up as the Spartans won a heartbreaker.

Norfolk State had 11 more free throw attempts than the Eagles going 19-of-24 from the charity stripe with 16 attempts in the second half. NC Central shot a 52.5 field goal percentage as its three-game winning streak was snapped.

The Maroon & Gray are back in action on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Howard University for a 4 p.m. tip. The Eagles will have played half of their conference schedule at the completion of the contest.

For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.

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