Delaware State men upend N.C. Central to reach MEAC final at Scope

Deywilk Tavarez had 20 points in Delaware State’s 71-58 upset win over second-seeded North Carolina Central on Friday night in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament semifinals at Scope.

The sixth-seeded Hornets will face fourth-seeded Howard in Saturday’s 1 p.m. championship game, with an NCAA Tournament automatic bid at stake. The Bison upset top-seeded Norfolk State earlier Friday to reach the title game.

Tavarez also added five rebounds for the Hornets (15-17). Jevin Muniz scored 16 points and added five rebounds. Martez Robinson finished 5 of 12 from the floor to finish with 12 points.

Keishon Porter led the Eagles (18-13) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Fred Cleveland Jr. added 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals for NCCU. Po’Boigh King also had 11 points.

A 13-3 run in the first half gave Delaware State a five-point lead. The teams entered the break with Delaware State ahead 27-26. A 10-0 run in the second half turned a tie game into a 10-point lead for the Hornets.

Women

Howard 69, North Carolina Central 56: Iyanna Warren scored 23 points and Kaiya Creek added 19 as No. 2 seed Howard advanced to the MEAC women’s championship game with a semifinal victory over No. 3 seed North Carolina Central on Friday at Scope.

The Bison (15-15) will face No. 1 seed Norfolk State (26-5) in the final at 4 p.m. Saturday. The teams split their regular-season series, with each team winning on its home floor.

Janiah Jones paced North Carolina Central (16-15) with 11 points off the bench, while Morgan Callahan added 10 points and nine rebounds.

Howard led 34-27 at the half and extended the margin to double digits in the third quarter. The closest the Eagles could get in the fourth quarter was 10.

The Bison took advantage at the line, converting 26 of 37 attempts. North Carolina Central went 9 of 11 from the line.