WASHINGTON, D.C. – Down by as much as 20 points in the second half to Howard University, the North Carolina Central University men's basketball team stormed back, bringing the deficit to just one with a little over 10 seconds remaining. The Eagles couldn't close the deal, falling 82-78 on Saturday evening in Burr Gymnasium.
Guards Po'Boigh King (16), Keishon Porter (15), and forward Kelechi Okworogwo (13) finished in double figures.
NCCU is now 10-14 overall and 3-4 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action dropping four MEAC games on the road.
The Eagles played Howard tightly in the first half, trailing 35-31 through the first 20 minutes.
Howard (9-14, 4-2 MEAC) got hot in the second half draining five threes, which was the same number that NC Central connected on beyond the arc in the first half.
With 10:41 left on the clock, the Maroon & Gray found themselves down 63-43. The Eagles responded with a 35-16 run and were down 79-78 with 12 seconds remaining.
During that stretch, Okworogwo scored 11 points and junior Jaqai Murray chipped in eight and the Eagles went 10-of-16 from the field and were perfect from the line with 14 attempts.
Out of timeouts, NC Central quickly fouled sending Howard's Blake Harper to the free-throw line. Harper went 1-of-1 missing the second as Howard's Jaren Johnson tipped the rebound to himself and threw it off Murray along the baseline to keep possession.
NCCU would foul one final time sending HU's Joshua Strong to the line and he made both with two seconds remaining. The Eagles inbounded the ball and heaved a shot, unable to connect bringing the final score to 82-78.
Howard's Marcus Dockery and Blake Harper led the Bison in scoring with 21 and 18, respectively. Ayodele Taiwo blocked 11 shots.
NC Central had one of its better performances from the charity stripe going 19-of-23 in the game and 15-of-16 (93.8 percent) in the second half. The Eagles also had a 30-10 advantage in fastbreak points.
The Maroon & Gray host Coppin State University on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
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