GAME NOTES: NCCU Men's Basketball at Coppin State (Jan. 30)

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The Rematch in Baltimore

NCCU senior forward Charles Futrell hangs in the air for a jump shot against Coppin State. (Drew Austin photo)

Jan. 29, 2008

THE GAME North Carolina Central University visits Baltimore, Md. on Wednesday, Jan. 30 for a rematch with Coppin State University of the MEAC at 7:30 p.m. ... Coppin State edged NCCU 66-62 on Jan. 16 in Durham, N.C. ... This will be the 21st road game of the season for NCCU... NCCU has played in 12 states so far this season (North Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, North Dakota, Maryland, Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, Nebraska, Michigan, Virginia, Utah) with one more state (New York) on the schedule... NCCU is 0-2 against MEAC opposition this year.

THE SERIES This will be the fourth meeting between NCCU and Coppin State... Coppin State leads the series 2-1... CSU won the first meeting 90-49 on Dec. 11, 1976... NCCU captured a 47-42 victory on Jan. 26, 1980... CSU won the last match-up two weeks ago in Durham, 66-62.

UP NEXT NCCU hosts its fifth home game of the season when Chowan University comes to Durham on Feb. 16 at 4:00 p.m. THE EAGLES' COACH Henry Dickerson (Morris Harvey, 1973) is in his fourth season as head coach at North Carolina Central and enters the contest with a 40-68 record at NCCU and a 112-141 career record. Dickerson arrived at N.C. Central in 2004-05 after a five-year stint as head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he was 72-73 and won two Southern Conference divisional titles from 1997-2002. He also served as associate head coach at Chattanooga from 1989-97, and held assistant coaching positions at Marshall from 1983-89 and Charleston from 1979-83.

THE LAST MEETING WITH COPPIN STATE (Jan. 16, 2008) Coppin State University overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to edge first-year NCAA Division I opponent North Carolina Central University, 66-62, in front of 2,411 fans inside NCCU's McLendon-McDougald Gym in Durham, N.C. NCCU senior forward Charles Futrell amassed game-highs of 28 points (20 in the second half) and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season and the eighth of his two-year college career, but it was not enough for the host Eagles. Coppin State senior Antwan Harrison proved to be too much for NCCU to handle as he stormed off the bench for 25 points. Fellow CSU senior Tywain McKee, who finished with 14 points and four assists, was clutch down the stretch for the visiting Eagles. McKee drained a back-breaking three-pointer with 31 seconds left to give his squad a 63-60 lead, then hit a pair of free throws with 13 ticks on the clock to keep the cushion at three points. NCCU enjoyed a 24-12 advantage after a triple by Philip Branch at 5:24 of the first half, but CSU went on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 26-26. A running jumper at the buzzer by NCCU rookie Michael Glasker gave NCCU a 28-26 lead at intermission. NCCU expanded its cushion to 45-36 on a jumper by J'Mell Walters with just under 13 minutes left in the contest. CSU (4-13) responded by scoring 10 unanswered points to take its first lead of the game when freshman center Ceslovas Kucinskas made the first of two free throws to provide the visitors with a 46-45 edge at the 7:49 mark. During the 10-0 stretch, NCCU committed four turnovers and missed the front-end of one-and-one free throw situations twice. The final seven minutes of the game was a roller coaster ride with four ties and six lead changes. Harrison and McKee combined to score 16 of the final 19 points for Coppin State, leading the visitors to victory.

FUTRELL AVERAGING 31 POINTS AGAINST MEAC OPPONENTS In two games against MEAC opposition this season, NCCU senior forward Charles Futrell has averaged 31.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Against Norfolk State on Jan. 7, the 6-6 forward amassed a career-high 34 points to go along with six boards. On Jan. 16 versus Coppin State, Futrell recorded 28 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

RECORDS WATCH: AYALA CLIMBING NCCU CAREER RANKS NCCU junior guard Bryan Ayala continues to climb up the ranks as one of the school's all-time career leaders in steals and assists. Ayala currently ranks fifth in career steals with 139 and eighth in career assists with 258. (see page 6 of game notes for complete lists)

FUTRELL A WORKHORSE FOR NCCU NCCU senior forward Charles Futrell has played every minute in nine games this season. The senior workhorse averages 37.0 minutes played per 40-minute game.