Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – North Carolina Central University allowed the host Colonels of Eastern Kentucky University to shoot 51.9 percent from the field, Jaron Jones to score a career-high 30 points, and turned the ball over a season-high 22 times and dropped its fourth straight contest on the road falling 75-62 on Tuesday night at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Ky.
 
NCCU turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, senior Dominique Sutton played just six minutes because of foul trouble, and Jaron Jones scored 13 points and somehow the Eagles were tied at the end of the first stanza at 27. 
 
The maroon and gray trailed 24-17 with 5:16 remaining in the first half and momentum was clearly on the EKU side, but the resilient Eagles turned up the defense and went on a 10-3 run to tie the game and actually had a chance to take the  lead into the locker room, but a Ray Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) jumper fell short with time winding down.
 
After both teams traded buckets to begin the second half, EKU hit three-pointers on two of three possessions to widen the Colonel lead to 39-31, but the Eagles kept fighting, scoring the next four points that included a dunk by Sutton to make it 39-35 heading into the under 16 timeout.
 
The Colonels stretched the lead back out to eight at 43-35 with 14:16 to go on a Jabs Newby layup, and the maroon and gray cut it right back to four with 12:07 to go on a Nick Chasten (Raleigh, N.C.) dunk at 43-39.
 
With 10:37 left, with NCCU not playing its best basketball, the Eagles cut the deficit to one following two Jeremy Ingram (Charlotte, N.C.) free throws at 45-44, but that rally was thwarted by five straight Colonel points to put EKU back up by six at 50-44 with 10:16 to go.  Ingram came off the bench to contribute 8 points that included a 6-for-6 effort from the foul line.
 
A Clement three-pointer with 5:19 left in the game cut the margin to three at 61-58, and that was the closest NCCU would get the rest of the way as EKU outscored the Eagles 14-4 to pullaway for the 75-62 win.  Clement led with 15 points off the bench hitting 5-for-7 outside shots to give him 142 career three-pointers putting him 11 away from Fred “Pop” Bennett (1987-90) for fourth place all-time.
 
Despite the unforced errors, the Eagles had every opportunity to come away with the hard-earned road win, but the Colonels went 6-for-8 from three-point range in the second half and finished a perfect 10-for-10 at the line in the final 20 minutes.
 
The only other Eagle to record double figures was Sutton, who recovered from a foul-layden first half to finish with 14 points with four rebounds.
 
Emanuel Chapman (Raleigh, N.C.) finished with 11 assists and just one turnover in the loss.
 
For just the third time this season, the Eagles shot over 50 percent from the field going 23-for-42 from the field good enough for 54.8 percent from the field.  NCCU also went 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from the outside in the loss. 
 
NCCU (5-4) looks to recover and refocus as they get set to take on the Wolfpack of N.C. State University on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 3:00 p.m. from historic Reynolds Coliseum. 
 
Stay up-to-date with North Carolina Central University Athletics by flying over to www.NCCUEaglePride.com, the official website of NCCU Athletics.