EUGENE, Ore. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – In a contest that that saw eight ties and 13 lead changes, a late second half run was all the Eagles of North Carolina Central University needed to finish off the Panthers of Prairie View A&M University 69-58 to end the 2011 Global Sports Hoops Showcase with a 2-1 record, giving the maroon and gray momentum heading into the holiday break.

Judging by the first 20 minutes of action it looked as if the first meeting between these two squads would go down to the wire with neither team holding a lead larger than six.  In fact, there were seven ties and nine lead changes, but the swarming Eagle defense recorded four steals and forced 10 turnovers, which NCCU turned into 12 points in favor of the maroon and gray. 

With 8:09 left in the first half and the game knotted up at 23, the Eagles made their best move going on a 6-0 earning their largest lead of the half at 29-23.  The momentum of that rally was short-lived when the Panthers answered back with an 8-2 spurt to tie the game at 31 with 15 second left following a three-pointer by guard Tim Meadows.

NCCU took the lead at the half when junior Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) was fouled in the act of shooting with 0.1 seconds left giving the Eagles a 33-31 lead.

The second half saw the Eagle defense turn it up a notch by forcing 13 more Panther turnovers and with 11:56 to go when Ebuka Anyaorah’s (Suwanee, Ga.) layup gave the Eagles the lead at 44-43 that would never be relinquished. 

A 9-0 run that put NCCU up 51-43 was led by Anyaorah who scored seven of his 18 points in less than three minutes.  The junior finished the night 6-for-11 from the field including 3-for-6 from the outside.

Prairie View A&M continued to fight back, cutting the margin to five at 54-49, but sophomore Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) drilled a clutch three-pointer to put NCCU back by eight at 57-49.

Moments later, senior Nick Chasten (Raleigh, N.C.) hit another three-pointer to put the Eagles up by 11 at 62-51 with 5:09 to go.

That was all NCCU needed to cruise down the stretch and hang on for the 69-58 win.

Highlighting the victory for the Eagles, senior Dominique Sutton (Durham, N.C.) led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting that included 7-for-11 from the foul line, with five of those coming down the stretch.  Ingram added 11 points and a spark off the bench for the third straight game, and Willis contributed 11 points in the victory for the Eagles.

Despite being outnumbered on the boards 37-22, NCCU outscored the Panthers 25-5 in points off turnovers

NCCU (7-6) enters the holiday break with a two-game winning streak and will get back to action on Thurs., Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m. against the Pirates of East Carolina University from Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum in Greenville, N.C.

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