By John McCann

jmccann@heraldsun.com

DURHAM — Nineteen points in the first-half against Howard on Monday was a personal best for N.C. Central's Jeremy Ingram, but he had more in him and returned for the final 20 minutes still warm and finished with 27 points in a 69-53 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference win on the road for the Eagles.



“They kept downing screens, so Coach told us to drive, and that's what I did. So I kept finishing and getting and-ones,” Ingram said. “It's a tough conference. These games come down to the last minute and you've got to execute, and that's what we did.”

“He's a gamer. He's the type of kid who excels in hostile environments. He's a tough kid,” NCCU coach LeVelle Moton said.

Ingram (6-3, 175) is a sophomore guard, and what he did against Howard really should be the norm every time he laces up his sneakers and steps on the court, Moton said.

“The challenge for him is to become more consistent and mature, evolve and just grow into the player that we know he is capable of being,” Moton said.

NCCU needed Ingram's mojo off the bench when the Eagles failed to score during the first five minutes of the game. Ingram got NCCU on the scoreboard with a layup and kept on lighting it up.

“I just wanted to come in and give energy because our energy was down. I just told everybody, 'Let's pick it up and go hard,' and that's what we did,” said Ingram, who also did work on the boards, pulling down eight rebounds, another career high.

Ingram's three assists tied another career high for him; he made all four of his free throws and knocked down three 3-pointers.

The 14 points Ingram scored in a Feb. 17, 2011 road loss to Coastal Carolina, in Conway, S.C., were his previous career high.

Moton joked about something seemingly coming over Ingram when he arrives in Washington, D.C., to play against the Bison, because Ingram in NCCU's last two games in Howard's Burr Gymnasium has averaged 18.5 points and the Eagles have won twice.



“We're going to play all of our home games up here in D.C just for Jeremy. If he's going to play like that, then we need it,” Moton said.

While the Eagles managed to get it together after a slow start, they'd better watch that, Moton said.

“You can't bail yourself out of a hole every night,” Moton said.

And NCCU must value the basketball, Moton said. While the Eagles forced Howard to commit 23 turnovers, they committed 23 themselves. But NCCU did a pretty good job cleaning the glass, and those rebounds helped account for the lack of execution on offense, Moton said.

NCCU's Ray Willis recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Most of Willis' points came from the foul line, where he hit all eight of his attempts.

Dominique Sutton scored 11 points for the Eagles, who locked down on defense, making Howard go 29.8 percent from the field on 14-of-47 shooting.

The Eagles take their 3-1 MEAC record to Coppin State on Saturday before heading to Morgan State on Monday. Both of those Eagles' opponents in the pre-season were picked to finish no lower than fourth in the 13-team league.

“It doesn't get any easier. This is going to be the biggest road trip of our lives,” Moton said. “We're playing two very, very, very, very, very good basketball teams, and we definitely have to be prepared. But one at a time: Coppin — they're going to spread you out, they're going to drive you and they're going to make shots. So we just have to be able to contain the basketball and keep them in front.”