Daijah BoydWhat looked like a comfortable night quickly turned tense, but North Carolina Central held off a furious Morgan State rally to claim an 80-76 win Monday night at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
With former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin in attendance, North Carolina Central delivered one of its strongest first halves.
Behind sophomore guard Gage Lattimore’s hot shooting, the Eagles built a 21-point halftime lead. N.C. Central shot 53.3% from the field in the opening half while holding the Bears to just 24.3% shooting (9-for-37) to create separation from its opponents. Lattimore scored 17 points before the break, knocking down five of his six attempts from beyond the arc. The second half told a different story.
Missed shots and 11 turnovers after halftime allowed Morgan State to chip away, converting those miscues into 18 points. The Bears cut the deficit to just two in the final minute after trailing by as many as 21. But with seven seconds remaining and the Eagles clinging to a two-point lead, Lattimore, who leads the MEAC in free-throw percentage, calmly knocked down two clutch free throws to ice the game. On the final possession, senior forward Kelechi Okworogwo blocked Morgan State’s final 3-point attempt, securing the win.
The Eagles were without two key contributors, senior guard Tekao Carpenter and senior forward Khouri Carvey, forcing others into expanded roles. Although the reason for Carpenter’s absence has not been reported, Carvey has been battling illnesses for a majority of conference play.
“We’re still learning life without Khouri. A lot of times he was our finisher,” head coach LeVelle Moton said. “And then we were [without] Tekao, who’s our best passer and facilitator.”
Senior guard Dionte Johnson, the MEAC’s steals leader, was a player who answered that call. He finished with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
“We’re down players and we needed more,” Johnson said. “Scoring, defense, stealing the ball, getting extra possessions, whatever it took, I knew I was going to be that today.”
Lattimore finished with a team-high 21 points, shooting 5-for-9 from 3-point range and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. The rest of the starting lineup joined him in double figures. Senior guard Jae Slack added 14 points, Okworogwo recorded 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, and senior guard Kyric Davis notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Just two days after being honored on Senior Day, Johnson, Slack, Okworogwo and Davis combined for 51 points in what proved to be a pivotal conference victory.
Morgan State entered the matchup atop the conference standings, riding a six-game winning streak, while the Eagles sought to rebound after a loss to Coppin State over the weekend. With the win, North Carolina Central moved to 6-3 in conference play, completing a season sweep of the Bears, its first since 2022. The team moved into a tie with the Bears for second place in the conference standings. Howard currently sits in first place with a 7-3 record, who the Eagles will face this upcoming Saturday, Feb. 21.
The Eagles will face the South Carolina State Bulldogs tonight, Feb. 18.
