Campus Echo StaffN.C. Central looks for its second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football victory Saturday against Norfolk State, coming off a 35-14 victory over Howard University last weekend.
Walker Harris threw for 321 yards and a career-high four touchdowns to lead the Eagles over the Bison in Washington. Three of those passes were caught by wide receiver Chauncey Spikes, including a career-long 80-yarder in the first quarter. Spikes hit career highs with 208 receiving yards and 9 receptions.
Spikes’s stellar performance earned him a Stats Perform HBCU National Player of the Week honor, joining fellow Eagles Harris and Chris Mosley to receive the honor this season.
The Eagles dominated the first half on both sides of the field with a 21-0 performance as a team. The Harris-to-Spikes connection started strong with a touchdown in the first six minutes of the game, followed by the 80-yard bomb later in the first quarter. Harris showed off his running ability in the second quarter with a 13-yard rushing touchdown.
The Howard Bison attempted a comeback, scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter, but NCCU matched the scoring to maintain the lead. Wide receiver Refeno Vangates caught his second touchdown of the season after a 30-yard pass from Harris. Spikes caught the last touchdown of the game to end the scoring.
N.C. Central is now tied for third in the conference with a 1-1 record next to Howard, sitting behind South Carolina State and Delaware State, who both remain undefeated.
The Eagles welcome Norfolk State and its new head coach, former NFL star Michael Vick, Saturday at 2 p.m., streaming live on ESPN+.
Women’s Basketball
N.C. Central opens its home season this evening against UNC-Wilmington after falling short 90-42 in its season opener against North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday morning at Carmichael Arena.
The loss brings the Lady Eagles to a 0-1 record and marks their ninth consecutive loss against North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In the first quarter, the Lady Eagles had a rough start, shooting 31% from the field, only scoring 9 points, with freshman Aliyah Grant scoring 4 of them.
Going into halftime, N.C. Central trailed 53–21 after struggling to keep pace in transition, which allowed UNC Chapel Hill to score 18 fast break points in the 2nd quarter.
In the third quarter, the Lady Eagles were able to score 12 points, with senior Nia Young scoring 4 of them.
In the final period, N.C. Central scored 9 points while stepping up defensively, limiting Chapel Hill to just 14 points and forcing three late turnovers and several additional Tar Heel turnovers.
“We really have a chance to do something special if we lock in to what we want to do,” NCCU Head Coach Terrence Baxter said.
Top performers for N.C. Central included junior Aysia Hinton, who scored nine points on three 3-pointers. Graduate student Morgan Callahan added six points and seven rebounds, while freshman Amaya Harris chipped in six points. Sophomore Shakiria Foster contributed five points and five rebounds.
Men’s Basketball
The Eagles visit their second straight ACC opponent this evening when they take on Virginia in Charlottesville.
The Eagles made their season debut Monday with a 114-66 loss to N.C. State. Guard Gage Lattimore and forward Khouri Carvey led the Eagles in scoring with 20 points and 19 points, respectively, while returning senior Dionte Johnson helped facilitate the offense with 5 assists. The team had a 43.8% field goal percentage, shooting 21-of-48 overall.
N.C. State, with new head coach Will Wade, proved to be a tough matchup, outscoring the Eagles by at least 20 points in both halves. The Wolfpack dominated the Eagles in every team statistic, with seven players in double-digit points.
NCCU kept the Wolfpack lead under 10 for the first ten minutes of the game after an 0-8 run to start but quickly lost control. The first half ended with the Eagles trailing by 28 points. Carvey led the team in scoring and rebounding with 12 points and six rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting in the first 20 minutes.
The team’s scoring improved significantly in the second half with 40 points overall. Lattimore scored 13 of his 20 points on 3-of-6 shooting and made 5-of-5 free throws.
Khouri Carvey was 2 rebounds away from a double-double in his Eagle debut, and Lattimore scored 20+ points for the second time in his college career and his first time for NCCU.
The Eagles’ game at Virginia tips off at 7 pm, streaming on ACCNX.
Volleyball
The N.C. Central volleyball team returns to the road this weekend with matches at Howard tonight and Norfolk State Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Eagles are coming off a strong weekend at home, picking up two MEAC victories against Morgan State and Coppin State. The wins improved the Eagles’ overall record to 9–15 and their conference record to 6–5.
On Oct. 31, the Eagles defeated Morgan State in a five-set thriller (25–19, 23–25, 22–25, 25–14, 15–8). Kamren Harper led the team with 22 kills and one ace. Allyson Rouse and Jenelle Mason each added 13 kills, with Rouse contributing three blocks and Mason recording one. Tayah Little finished with eight kills and one block.
After dropping the second and third sets, the Eagles rallied to dominate the fourth set and secure the match in the fifth.
Two days later, Central handed Coppin State its first MEAC loss of the season with a 3–1 victory (25–22, 21–25, 25–20, 25–18). Harper produced another phenomenal performance, once again leading the way with 15 kills, four blocks, and three aces. These strong performances earned her the MEAC Volleyball Player of the Week award.
Along with Harper, Little added 11 kills and four blocks, while Rouse posted nine kills and seven blocks. Makenzie Searcy also contributed with eight kills and one ace.
Tennis
The N.C. Central men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Hampton, Va., last weekend to compete in Hampton University’s Pirate Hidden Dual on Nov. 1–2. The Eagles had an incredibly successful weekend, combining for 20 victories against the Longwood Lancers, Hampton Pirates, and Christopher Newport Captains.
The men’s team earned four victories on Saturday against the Hampton Pirates to open the weekend. Sophomore Naresh Bharathy and junior Antoni Pankowski paired up to defeat Hampton 6–4 in doubles, and Pankowski also picked up a singles victory.
Senior Rodrigo Alves was another standout for the Eagles, winning every match he played in. He claimed a singles win Saturday and teamed up with freshman Leo Fortier-Gariepy for a doubles victory against Hampton on Sunday.
N.C. Central’s only win against Longwood came from Alves, who defeated the Lancers’ Daniel Borisov in singles play Saturday.
These matchups concluded the men’s team’s fall schedule as they now prepare for the spring season.
The Lady Eagles opened Saturday against Longwood, starting with two doubles wins from freshman-senior duo Sara Barbaric and Valeria San Miguel Soria and sophomore pair Mariana Zottoli and Alejandra Hidalgo Vega. Barbaric, along with sophomore Valentina de Aquino and freshman Gabriela Mejia Arenas, added singles victories to close out the day.
Sunday, N.C. Central swept every match against the Captains, bringing the women’s team to a total of 14 victories throughout the weekend.
Following these matches, the Lady Eagles will travel to San Diego, Calif., where senior Valeria San Miguel Soria and freshman Sara Barbaric will compete as a doubles team in the ITA Conference Masters. Other Eagles will participate in the San Diego Fall Classic from Nov. 6–9.
Written by Charles Green, Allison Ivy, Alex Murphy, and Daijah Boyd
