North Carolina Central: 2022 Celebration Bowl Champions

North Carolina Central saw victory erased as time elapsed at the end of regulation in the Celebration Bowl Saturday.

The Eagles remained calm, driving for a touchdown in overtime to ruin the end of the Deion Sanders era at Jackson State, 41-34.

The Tigers, who came in undefeated, had forced overtime on the final play of regulation when Shedeur Sanders threw a TD pass to Travis Hunter. They went for the PAT to send the game to the extra session rather than try to win it with a 2-point conversion.

In the extra period, Davius Richard scored on a 1-yard run and the Eagles kicked the PAT.

The Tigers’ drive ended with a pair of incompletions, one that saw sophomore tight end Hayden Hagler drop a potential TD pass in the end zone. The second pass from Shedeur Sanders was errant and North Carolina Central was the HBCU champs.

The Tigers named T.C. Taylor to replace Deion Sanders as head coach. Deion Sanders is taking over as head coach at the University of Colorado and bringing many Jackson State players with him to Boulder.

North Carolina Central: 2018-19 Mid-Eastern Men's Basketball Champions

NORFOLK, Va. -- Zacarry Douglas scored all 10 of his points during a 25-6 second-half run and North Carolina Central won its third consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament with a 50-47 victory against top-seeded Norfolk State on Saturday.

The Eagles (18-15) earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament despite missing nine of their last 10 shots and not scoring for the final 4:03.

Mastadi Pitt scored 14 points and C.J. Kelly 13 for Norfolk State (21-13). The Spartans had a last chance to tie, but after taking a timeout with 8.8 seconds left, they had to settle for a heavily contested desperation heave by Pitt at the buzzer.

The Spartans closed the first half on a 20-8 run and led 32-22 at the break. It was 34-22 after Alex Long's jumper to open second-half scoring, but Jordan Perkins' 3-pointer started the 25-6 spurt. Perkins had seven points in the run that gave the Eagles a 47-38 lead with 8:18 to play.

The Spartans trailed 50-42 after Jibri Blount's basket for the Eagles with 4:03 left, but got only a driving basket by Steven Whitley and three free throws by Jordan Butler the rest of the way as they missed seven of their last eight shots.

BIG PICTURE

N.C. Central: The Eagles turned over the ball 17 times, but it led to just 13 points for Norfolk State. The Eagles also won the rebounding battle 41-29 with Raasean Davis grabbing 14 and Douglas 12.

Norfolk State: Scoring leader Nic Thomas (14.9 points per game) was scoreless, missing all five of his shots from the field.

UP NEXT

N.C. Central: will await its NCAA Tournament destination.

Norfolk State: will play in the NIT as league regular-season champions.

North Carolina Central: 2017-18 Mid-Eastern Men's Basketball Champions

NORFOLK, Va. -- North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Moton looked at his phone and couldn't help but laugh.

Early this season, when the Eagles were struggling on defense and incorporating freshmen into the lineup, his phone was pretty quiet. But on Saturday, it was blowing up with congratulatory text messages after the Eagles used a late 11-0 run to break a 58-all tie and beat Hampton 71-63 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Association championship.

"This championship is different," Moton said, because it was unexpected. "To be honest, a lot of people gave up on this team."

The championship -- and automatic NCAA Tournament berth -- is the second in a row and third in five years for the Eagles (19-15).

"We've created the standard at North Carolina Central and I'm proud because these guys and the other guys in the locker room, they upheld that standard," Moton said.

Pablo Rivas had 22 points and the Eagles took command after neither team scored for more than two minutes.

"We just started coming up with some stops," said Rivas, whom Moton described as his best player, and who agreed to come off the bench after starting just one game.

Jordan Perkins added 13 points and nine assists and John Guerra scored 12 for the Eagles, including a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half. The junior had arrived at Scope Arena for the start of the tournament earlier in the week having made just five 3s all season.

"They had some guys that we kind of dared to make plays and they made them," Hampton coach Ed Joyner Jr. said.

The loss came in the Pirates' final MEAC game because they are moving to the Big South next season.

Malique Trent-Street scored 15 points to lead the Pirates (19-15), who also were seeking their third MEAC title in five years. Instead, as the regular-season champions, they are assured a spot in the National Invitation Tournament.

"The NIT is cool, but we wanted to leave the MEAC with the championship," Trent-Street said.

Akim Mitchell and Greg Heckstall each added 11 points for the Pirates, who made just 4 of 18 3-point tries (22.2 percent).

A 3-pointer by Kalin Fisher pulled Hampton even at 58-all with 4:24 to play, but the Pirates didn't score again until Trent-Street's layup with 18 seconds to go.

"I stayed up all night trying to develop a game plan because the first time we played them, that didn't work," Moton said, referencing an 86-70 home loss to the Pirates on Feb. 5.

BIG PICTURE


N.C. Central: The Eagles have made winning a habit in recent years, and did so this year with two freshmen -- Reggie Gardner Jr. (11.0 ppg) and Jordan Perkins (8.3 ppg, 5.4 apg) -- figuring prominently in the backcourt. They combined with veterans Raasean Davis, Rivas and Guerra to make NCCU a dangerous team to take lightly in the postseason.

Hampton: The Pirates were sloppy with the ball in the closing minutes, ruining their chances at a victory in front of a partisan and pro-Hampton crowd. The Pirates also got little help from their bench, which was outscored 28-9 by the NCCU reserves.

UP NEXT

N.C. Central will head to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years.

The Pirates' loss means the NIT is their consolation prize.

North Carolina Central: 2016-17 Mid-Eastern Men's Basketball Champions

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference had a new champion crowned on Saturday afternoon. The No. 1-seeded North Carolina Central beat No. 2 Norfolk State 67-59 in the MEAC Conference tournament championship game.

Things were tight in the first half, with North Carolina Central heading to the locker room trailing 38-35 at halftime. The Eagles had an impressive defensive effort in the second half, holding the Spartans to just 21 points, including an 11-minute scoring drought that ended with three minutes left in the half.

The Eagles’ offense was led by senior guard Patrick Cole, who had 18 points and eight rebounds on the day. Cole is North Carolina Central’s leading scorer, averaging 20 points per game.

With the victory on Saturday, North Carolina Central has officially punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, just the second time in school history the team has made the tournament. The last time the Eagles made it to the tournament was in 2014, and they lost in the second round that year.

The No. 1-seeded North Carolina Central got past Bethune-Cookman and Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first quarter and semifinal rounds to advance to the championship game. Norfolk State, on the other hand, survived a tough South Carolina State team, needing overtime to get the 93-88 victory in the first round. The Spartans beat the No. 11 seed Howard in the semifinals to advance.

Hampton, the conference’s reigning champion from 2016, entered as the No. 4 seed. The Pirates lost to Maryland Eastern Shore 68-66 in the quarterfinal round, finishing their season with a 14-16 overall record.

North Carolina Central: 2013-14 MEAC Men's Basketball Champions

NORFOLK, Va. -- N.C. Central coach LeVelle Moton ends every practice by picking someone on his team and asking them to make a pressure free throw.

That practice paid off in a big way Saturday as the Eagles' free throw shooting carried them to a 71-62 victory against Morgan State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship game, and into the NCAA tournament. The Eagles will arrive riding a 20-game winning streak.

"We set goals at the beginning of the year and this was one of them," senior guard Emmanuel Chapman said. "But this wasn't the last goal, so it's great, it's tremendous, it's all of those great adjectives that you want to us for games like this, but we still feel like we have unfinished business."

A first-round exit as the favorite last season only heightened their desire to make a better showing this time around.

"If someone was going to beat us, they were going to have to beat us," Jeremy Ingramsaid. "It wasn't going to be because of our effort."

Jeremy Ingram scored 29 points and the Eagles (28-5) used an 8-1 run to get some separation, then held on with their free throw shooting. They made 17 straight in one stretch and 25 of 30 after halftime, helping to overcome the fact that they made just six field goals in the second half.

Karamo Jawara added 10 points for the Eagles (28-5), who won the tournament in only their seventh season at the Division I level.

"I can't sit here and make like I remember everything that happened," Moton, in his fifth year as coach, said, the freshly clipped net hanging around his neck and the glistening tournament trophy beside him. "I kind of lost it there for a while."

Ian Chiles scored 26 points to lead Morgan State (15-16), which was appearing in the championship for the sixth time in eight seasons under coach Todd Bozeman and seeking its fourth championship. Chiles and fellow senior Justin Black played in three championship games, but came up short each time.

"It's tough," said Chiles, a 7-foot-2 senior. "We fought every time. Today the better team won."

Anthony Hubbard added 12 points and Blake Bozeman 10 for the Bears.

The game was close throughout, but Ingram and Jawara each scored four points during the short run that finished with 9 minutes to go and the Eagles leading 50-43. Morgan State pulled to 55-52 with 4:31 to play, but Jordan Parks hit four straight free throws to rebuild the lead and the Eagles held on.

N.C. Central finished 26 for 33 from the line; the Bears were 13 of 19.

N.C. Central, a former Division II power, finished 18-1 against MEAC competition this year and hasn't lost since Jan. 11 against Florida A&M.

"It hasn't really hit me yet," Moton said. "I don't know about these guys, but it's tremendous."

The game was knotted at 31 at halftime, and tied three more times -- at 33, 39 and 42 -- before Jawara's dunk sparked the 8-1 burst. Ingram added two free throws, Jawara hit two and Ingram hit two more. The Eagles hit just two field goals in the last 13 minutes, a shot-clock-beating 3-point heave by Reggie Groves with 4:45 to play, and Ingram's 17-footer with 1:57 left. That gave N.C. Central a 61-54 lead, and the Eagles' free throw shooting kept them ahead.

The Eagles made just six field goals in the second half, and the Bears made just nine.