Washington, DC—January 16--Jeremy Ingram came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points and Ray Willis added a double double to lead North Carolina Central to a 69-53 win over Howard University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men’s game at Burr Gymnasium.

The Bison (4-16 overall, 1-6 in the MEAC) opened the game with an 11-2 lead and appeared on the verge on ending their current losing skid that has now reached seven games. But the Eagles (9-8
overall, 3-1 in the MEAC) regrouped quickly and reeled off a 14-2 run during a five-minute stretch to
take the lead for good at 16-13 on a three-point play by Ingram. The sophomore eclipsed his career high (14 points) by scoring 19 of his team’s points as NCCU took a 37-24 halftime lead.

Howard struggled again offensively and missed 15 of its 21 shots while also turning the ball over
19 times in the first stanza. Senior guard Glenn Andrews was the Bison’s only scoring threat with nine
points.

“It seemed like they played harder and wanted it more,” said Howard head coach Kevin
Nickelberry. “We started fast and they were able to adjust and we did not.”

The Eagles extended the lead to 15 to begin the second but Howard was able to get within eight
at 41-33 at the 17:06 mark on two free throws by Andrews. But that was as close as they would get as NCCU’s bench would prove to be the difference, outscoring the hosts, 43-15 for the game.

“There were a lot of missed opportunities,” added Nickelberry. “We got close but we missed some easy shots. The stats tell it all. We shot 10 more free throws than they did but we missed 10 and we took 47 shots and made only 14 (29 percent).”

Willis scored 13 and grabbed 10 rebounds and Dominique Sutton contributed 11 points for NCCU. The Eagles shot 53 percent from the field and 85 percent from the charity stripe to capture their first road win of the season.

Andrews led Howard with 17 points and 5 rebounds while freshman Simuel Frazier came off the
bench to add 10 points.

The Bison get a much needed break as they will not play again until they travel to Savannah, GA
to take on the Tigers of Savannah State, January 28.

“We have 10 days of evaluation,” said Nickelberry. “We are going to find who wants to play and
invest themselves in what we are trying to accomplish. I can no longer use inexperience as an excuse. We have been tested. I expect us to make layups and free throws.”