NC Central beats Bethune-Cookman 71-68 in OT

Mar 3, 2020, 03:49 am

DURHAM, N.C. -- C.J. Keyser scored 15 points, including a go-ahead layup with 1:23 left in overtime, and North Carolina Central beat Bethune-Cookman 71-68 on Monday night to remain undefeated at home.

Keyser's layup put the Eagles up 66-64 and they led 69-66 after he made two free throws and a jumper. The Wildcats closed to 70-68 with 19 seconds left on Isaiah Bailey's layup before Jordan Perkins iced it for NC Central with a free throw.

Jibiri Blount had nine rebounds and four assists and scored 19 points for the Eagles (16-13, 12-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), including a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left tied it at 59 at the end of regulation.

Deven Palmer grabbed 11 rebounds and Ty Graves scored 11 points for the NC Central, which entered the game tied for first in the conference with North Carolina A&T.

Malik Maitland scored 17 points and Bailey and Cletrell Pope added 13 apiece for the fifth-place Wildcats (15-14, 9-6).

The Eagles improve to 2-0 against the Wildcats for the season. NC Central defeated Bethune-Cookman 86-59 on Jan. 18. NC Central finishes out the regular season against NC A&T at home on Thursday. Bethune-Cookman finishes out the regular season against Florida A&M at home on Thursday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com