Dover, Del. — After falling behind in the second half, the North Carolina Central University men’s basketball team stormed back to win 69-66 at Delaware State University on Monday evening. Sophomore Po’Boigh King and redshirt senior Ja’Darius Harris combined for 43 points leading the Eagles to victory.
NCCU (12-8, 4-1 MEAC) controlled the lead the entire first half with Delaware State keeping pace never falling beyond 10 points. Both teams came into Monday’s contest in a three-way tie with Norfolk State University for first place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference standings.
The Delaware State (10-11, 3-2 MEAC) and MEAC’s leading scorer Martaz Robinson was held to just two points through the first 20 minutes. That would be all he would score the entire game with foul trouble.
The Eagles ended the first half on top 34-25 and for the second straight game, King led in scoring at the half with 11 points. NC Central shot 41.4 percent from the field outscoring the Hornets 14-8 in the paint.
Advertisement
After trading buckets in the first minute of the second half, King’s fast break layup would give NCCU its largest lead of the night with 11 points. DSU would begin to chip away slowly at the lead.
With a 43-38 lead with under 12 minutes remaining, the Eagles wouldn’t score another field goal for close to seven minutes. The Hornets tied the game 43-43 with less than nine minutes left.
Delaware State would take its first lead for the night 45-44 and stretched it to three with a quick steal and layup. Defense and free throws would keep the Eagles in the game helping to come back from down 10 points with 5:42 remaining.
King nailed two shots at the foul line bringing the score to 56-50 as the Eagles still trailed. A three-pointer from junior Devin Gordon brought the lead down to five points. Harris and King made back-to-back threes allowing NCCU back into the lead 61-60.
Delaware State’s Jevin Muniz finished with a game-high 24 points making clutch free throws down the stretch to help the Hornets take another one-point lead but that would be the last time DSU would be ahead.
Advertisement
Harris made three layups after one near turnover, a quick dime from King and an offensive foul drawn by senior Fred Cleveland Jr.
With NCCU leading 68-66, DSU caused a jump ball to regain possession for a chance to tie or take the lead. After a miss by the Hornets, redshirt senior Emmanuel Izunabor grabbed his ninth rebound of the night and was quickly fouled, making one of two shots with 3.6 seconds left.
A half-court heave from DSU’s Muniz wouldn’t drop as the Eagles escaped Dover with a 69-66 victory staying in first place in the conference standings. King finished with 22 points and five rebounds and Harris scored 21 points.
The Eagles will prepare to host Coppin State University on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 4 p.m. at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
Workers in Delaware experienced the lowest wage growth in the United States over the past year, according to recent data from ADP Pay Insights.
Employees in Delaware who have remained in their positions for at least 12 months saw their wages increase by 4.1%, bringing the median annual salary to $60,000. This figure places Delaware at the bottom of the rankings for wage growth across all states.
On average, other states saw a wage growth rate of 4.9% for job-stayers. In stark contrast, the top-performing states for wage growth in June showed significantly higher increases. Montana led with a 7.3% rise, followed by Idaho at 6.5%. Alaska, North Dakota, and Oregon each reported a 6% increase.
ADP’s Pay Insights report provides a unique view of salary trends by analyzing the same cohort of nearly 10 million employees over a 12-month period.
DELAWARE COUNTY — A Delaware County judge is siding with concerned residents over the rapidly increasing poultry farms in the area.
The concern is over the distance between the farms and residents as well as the output of waste from the chickens.
“They bring in all the chickens, they take out the chickens, they bring in the feed. They don’t take the manure. We get that,” said Pam Kingfisher a Delaware County resident.
She is part of a group called Green Country Guardians. The Facebook group’s thumbnail says, “Farms, not factories.”
Advertisement
She supports the Spring Creek Coalition, a citizen-led group that is suing the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry.
Kingfisher said the poultry farms that are already built are already causing problems.
“My creek is now dead. Double Spring Creek is dead. The water is, the rocks are brown and slimy, and it stinks year-round, not just in August,” said Kingfisher.
She said the creek used to be full of fresh water and is disappointed by its current state. Kingfisher said the farms are not strongly regulated.
“We followed trucks full of dead chickens, feathers flying; you know it’s just out here. It is still the Wild West. They got away with a whole lot of crazy stuff,” Kingfisher said.
Advertisement
In a decision on June 28, Delaware County Judge Dave Crutchfield said nearby residents were not informed of the farms before construction began.
It also said that poultry waste is a concern for nearby waterways.
“It’s a very big win because when you see words like ‘the problems should be inherently visible. It should be inherently apparent to anybody.’ Judge Crutchfield understood exactly the problem,” said Grant Hall another Delaware Country resident.
He is also involved in the movement against the state and poultry farms. He said that he is not anti-poultry, but he wants the regulations. “To get reasonable regulations is what we have been asking for. Reasonable regulations that are enforced,” Hall said.
To understand more about the state’s side, 2 News reached out to the ODAFF, they said they don’t speak on active cases.
Advertisement
2 News was told the legal battle will continue, however the residents are confident with their efforts so far.
As renewals of the Delaware Handicap (G2) go, 2023 will long be remembered. Juddmonte’s Idiomatic won the historic race in a stretch duel, overcoming stumbling at the start to catch front-running Classy Edition .
That victory was followed by three consecutive grade 1 victories to close out the season by the Brad Cox trainee, the last of which came in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Months later, she earned an Eclipse Award as the champion older dirt female of 2023.
The 2024 renewal of the $500,000 Delaware Handicap, contested at 1 3/16 miles July 7, does not appear to have a starter of Idiomatic’s quality, but Cox is again participating by starting Godolphin’s Wet Paint .
Under Sunday’s handicap conditions, she carries the top weight at 123 pounds, spotting the opposition from 2-9 pounds. Graded winners Honor D Lady and Morning Matcha are second and third high weights at 121 and 118 pounds, respectively.
Advertisement
Wet Paint, a 4-year-old daughter of Blame , is winless in four starts since winning the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) last summer at Saratoga Race Course. She travels to Delaware Park from her spring base at Churchill Downs, where she finished third in the Shawnee Stakes (G3) in her second start of the year June 1.
Sign up for BloodHorse Daily
Video
Last year as a 3-year-old, she won three other races in addition to the Coaching Club American Oaks—rattling them off to begin the year at Oaklawn Park in the Martha Washington Stakes, Honeybee Stakes (G3), and Fantasy Stakes (G3). She streaked into the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs and started as the betting favorite.
However, she would run fourth in the Oaks, and the late-running filly would fail to catch Hoosier Philly and Randomized in slow-paced stakes later in the year. Wet Paint has yet to win outside of her age group.
Advertisement
Regular jockey Flavien Prat returns in the irons.
Jose Ortiz in For The Mount on Honor D Lady
Another 4-year-old, Honor D Lady, won the Remington Park Oaks (G3) last fall in her top achievement from her 3-year-old year. Later in the final start of her 3-year-old season, she would finish third in the Comely Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
She is proven outside the 3-year-old ranks, taking the Royal Delta Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park in February. Since then, she ran ninth in the April 13 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) in a race in which come-backing Wet Paint was sixth. Honor D Lady was most recently second to the grade 1-winning 3-year-old filly Candied in the June 8 Lady’s Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Jose Ortiz rides Honor D Lady for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and owners Final Furlong Farm and Madaket Stables.
LC Racing, Cash is King, and Gary Barber’s Morning Matcha ran third in the Delaware Handicap last year. She heads into Sunday’s race off a troubled seventh-place finish in the June 15 Bed o’ Roses Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct.
Advertisement
“I really did not think she had a fair shot in her last race,” said trainer Robert “Butch” Reid. “She was blocked almost the whole trip, but she came out of the race great and she had a beautiful breeze Saturday morning, so we are ready to go.”
