Ray's Double-Double Leads Eagles Past Livingstone

DURHAM, NC - North Carolina Central University senior guard Shawn Ray recorded his third double-double of the season to lead the Eagles to a 73-64 win over Livingstone College at McLendon-McDougald Gym in Durham, NC.

Ray's 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals (all team-highs) vaulted the Eagles to their fifth win in the past six contests and their fourth straight home victory. Senior guard Corey Tabron came off the bench to drop 11 points for NCCU (8-7, 4-2 CIAA), and rookie guard Charles Nickens added 10 points.

Livingstone (5-7, 0-3 CIAA) was led by junior guard Jerome LaGrange with 22 points, eight boards and four assists, while freshman forward Michael Brown contributed 11 points and six caroms for the Blue Bears.

Livingstone jumped out to a 13-6 advantage in the opening six minutes, but NCCU rolled off 16 unanswered points, capped by a James Tucker triple, to take a 22-13 lead at 8:59. The Eagles pushed the margin to as much as 11 points before taking a 40-31 advantage at intermission.

In the second stanza, a three-pointer by Ray at the 13:22 mark gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 51-38.

Livingstone, however, slowly chipped away at the deficit and managed to pull within three points (55-52) at 7:35 courtesy of a put-back jumper by Christopher Johnson.

Again, NCCU answered the challenge by scoring eight straight points to take a 63-52 advantage with 4:58 remaining.

Although the Eagles missed 14 free throws on the night (18-for-32), they held on for the CIAA Western Division victory.