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| NCCU has won eight of its last nine games. (Howard Photo) |
(Courtesy of NCCU Athletics)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — North Carolina Central began the month of February off in style, smothering Howard University on the way to a convincing 79-65 victory on Saturday. The win was NCCU’s seventh straight.
The Eagles started out fast, taking a 22-9 advantage through the first 11 minutes.
An Antonin Galaya three-pointer from the right corner with 32 seconds left gave NCCU a 17 point lead 38-21 late in the first half and lead 38-24 at halftime.
The relentless Eagles kept the pressure up in the second half, immediately stretching the lead out to 19 at 45-26 with 17:08 left on senior Alfonzo Houston’s fast break dunk.
The Bison cut a 25-point margin to 18 on a Keon Hill three-pointer, the Eagles used a 15-6 run to squash any hopes of a Bison win.
NCCU held defense held James Daniel, the MEAC’s top scorer, to 13 points. Daniel shot just 3-for-13 (23.0 percent) from the field.
NCCU (15-5, 6-1 MEAC) was led by four players in double figures as Ingram ended the day leading all scorers with 16 points, while Groves finished with 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting from behind-the-arc. After going 5-for-5 from-the-field that included a couple of highlight reel worthy plays around-the-rim, Jordan Parks added 14 points, while Houston dropped-in 11 in the win.
NCCU forced 17 HU turnovers, out-rebounded Howard 35-30, and outscored the Bison in the paint 34-to-20.