National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina Central 67, Norfolk State 59
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 11, 2017
Where: Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Officials: # Terry Moore, # Quez Crawford, # Jackie Sanders
Attendance: N/A
Where: Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Officials: # Terry Moore, # Quez Crawford, # Jackie Sanders
Attendance: N/A
Patrick Cole had 18 points and eight rebounds as North Carolina Central beat Norfolk State 67-59 Saturday in the MEAC tournament final at Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
The Eagles took control in the second half with a 17-0 run and are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history and first since 2014. A dunk by Kyle Benton capped the run and gave North Carolina Central a 62-46 lead with 3:50 to play.
Norfolk State went nearly 11 minutes in the second half without scoring.
Dajuan Graf added 17 points and Rashauan Madison had 12 for North Carolina Central (25-8).
Zaynah Robinson led Norfolk State with 18 points and Kerwin Okoro added 12 points for the Spartans (17-16), who led 38-35 at halftime.
Top Game Performances
| Norfolk State | North Carolina Central | |
| Zaynah Robinson 18 | Scoring | Patrick Cole 18 |
| Zaynah Robinson 4 | Assists | Dajuan Graf 4 |
| Kyle Williams 10 | Rebounds | Kyle Benton 8 |
| Kyle Williams 3 | Free Throws Made | Patrick Cole 5 |
| Bryan Gellineau 1 | Steals | Rashaun Madison 3 |
| Jordan Butler 2 | Blocks | Kyle Benton 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Norfolk State | 59 | 35.4 | 7-20 | 6-6 | 11 | 42 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
| North Carolina Central | 67 | 39.3 | 5-15 | 18-27 | 10 | 35 | 3 | 7 | 10 |