NORFOLK, VA — It’s not every day an HBCU player makes Sportscenter for a last-second shot in March Madness, but you wouldn’t know it from watching Issac Parson in the press conference.
The 6’1 point guard drove the length of the court in seven seconds and came up with a layup that dropped into the rim as time expired to give North Carolina Central an epic 79-77 win over Delaware State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Tournament.
“I looked up at the clock, it was like 2.5 (seconds left), Coach Moton said ‘go score, go score,” Parson said with a slight grin. “So then, shoot I just know I had to get it up, turn the corner, and go score. I was just looking, waiting to see if it was gonna drop.”
It did — after four bounces. Also dropping to the floor was his coach. LeVelle Moton, looking for his fifth MEAC title in just over a decade, leaned back and hit the floor in the second that seemed like a minute that the ball bounced on the rim of the Scope.
“I trusted this young man over here on my left, to put the ball in his hands. That’s what he do. And the rest is history.”
Issac Parson was playing in his first MEAC Tournament game after he spent three seasons playing for Cleo Hill at WSSU, helping the team go 59-25 during that span, including a CIAA title in 2023.
Parson is from Kinston, North Carolina — the hometown of Jerry Stackhouse, among many other NBA players. Moton and Stackhouse have been tight since they were pre-teens. Moton said he’s known about Parson for a while, even though he signed with NCCU’s one-time conference rival.
“His family and Stack are really cool, so we always known about him,” Moton said. “We followed him at Winston. And now with this portal — it was just kind of a match made in heaven.”
Issac Parson was a decorated player in the Division II HBCU league, winning all-rookie honors as well as an all-CIAA nod last season. He has started just two games this season after starting 66 of his 77 games at WSSU. But he’s usually on the floor when the game ends, and if NCCU is to win the title, he’ll likely be a key part.
“He’s played there for four years, so now he had to adjust to how we do things here. And it’s been a difficult transition for him as it would with anymore. But he’s continued to buy in. Sometimes he’s got frustrated, but, hopefully he can feel confident now. Because he is the one guy on our team with a championship pedigree. And so that’s why he makes significant plays.
Moton said the free throws Parson hit down the stretch were just as significant. He went 4-for-4 from the free thrown line before hitting the game-winner. Free throws might win ball-games, but they don’t make Sportscenter.
“Those things get lost in the end of the battle because everybody loves the sexy stuff, like a last-second shot,” Moton said.
Last second shots are kind of Parson’s thing, though. He showed the willingness to take and make a last-second shot from his first season on when he hit two buzzer beaters against Virginia State and Elizabeth City State. And he continued to do so during his last two seasons there. And he did it twice during the regular season in wins against Garner-Webb and — you guessed it — Delaware State. But none of those were as big as the one he hit on Thursday night — the one that was slotted no. 5 on Sportscenter.
The name of the game is “survive and advance.” NCCU will have to win three games in three days to bring the first MEAC title back to Durham since 2019. Issac Parson has the experience as part of a team that won four games in four days to do it at his last HBCU. Why would he think he couldn’t do it again?
“Been there before,” Parson said matter-of-factly. “Just gotta stay solid and move on to the next game and just stay prepared to go.”
