Winston – Norfolk, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jeremy Ingram scored 29 points as North Carolina Central beat Morgan State, 71-62, in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title game.
Karamo Jawara had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists in the Eagles' 20th straight win, which secured the maiden trip to the NCAA Tournament for the program.
"It was going to come down to toughness and 50-50 balls," North Carolina Central head coach LeVelle Moton said. "We just made plays down the stretch."
NCCU (28-5) led throughout the majority of Saturday's contest, but never by more than nine points.
Ian Chiles scored 26 points to pace the Bears (15-16), who trailed the entire second half.
"It's tough. We fought until the end," Chiles said. "Today the better team won. We just came up a little short tonight."
The Eagles made frequent trips to the foul line down the stretch and converted 26-of-33 free throws overall, compared with 13-of-19 for Morgan State.
Game Notes
Alfonzo Houston tallied nine points and six rebounds for NCCU, which was 7- of-13 from 3-point range ... The Eagles had a 37-26 rebounding edge ... Anthony Hubbard registered 12 points and six boards for the Bears.
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