Saturday, March 16, 2019

North Carolina Central University headed to the NCAA Tournament

With a 50-47 win over the Norfolk State University Spartans (21-3), the North Carolina Central University eagles (18-15) won the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Championship game and punched their ticket to the 2019 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The Eagles were led by Raasean Davis, who was voted the tournament’s most outstanding player. Davis scored eight points and snagged 14 rebounds. Zacarry Douglas chipped in to help with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

It's the third straight title for NCCU, securing its third consecutive trip to the Big Dance. NCCU is the first MEAC team to win three straight tournament titles since North Carolina A&T won seven in a row from 1982-1988.

“Typical championship game,” NCCU head coach LeVelle Moton said. “We knew we were going to be in for a dog fight. We knew there were going to be some high highs and low lows.”

The Eagles, have now won four MEAC tournament titles in eight years of being a full MEAC member.

“This is what we do it for,” Moton said. “You try to push and squeeze all the juice out of the orange and get them to believe in themselves. I’m thankful that they believed in themselves this week.”

The Eagles will now wait to see who they’ll face during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, March 17.

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