Category: MACU

BLC Holds MACU at Bay 92-83

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Blue Lights College continued to stake its claim for the top seed in the upcoming NSAC men’s basketball tournament with a 92-83 conference win at Mid-Atlantic Christian Saturday afternoon.

MACU (5-15 overall, 2-3 NSAC) opened up a 5-0 lead in the first minute and 21 seconds, but the Thoroughbreds (12-5, 5-1) would tie the game three times before taking a 16-14 lead on a Jaye Bookhart field goal at 13:55. Elijah Cox would tie the game again for the Mustangs on two free throws 13 seconds later, but a 2-pointer by Sam Benton Jr. at 13:15 to play in the first would give BLC a lead they would never relinquish.

Blue Lights would hold a 50-45 advantage at halftime and extend it to as many as 14, 80-66, with 7:54 remaining.

Benton’s double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds led a balanced attack for the Thoroughbreds, who had five players in double-figure scoring. Noah Richardson-Keys led MACU with a double-double of 26 points and 10 boards.

Image courtesy USCAA Sports Network and MACU Athletics

Royals Stun Mustangs with Game-Winning Layup

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Mid-Atlantic Christian led by as many as 16 points in the second half but a buzzer-beating layup closed the deal as the Mustangs fell to non-conference rival Regent 82-80 Wednesday night.

MACU (5-14 overall, 2-2 NSAC) started with a strong lead and led by 14 points at halftime, pushing the margin to 16 early in the second half, but the visiting Royals (1-14) began to chip away and took their first lead at 69-68 with less than six minutes to play. Neither team could gain separation after that, and a Darrin Clark layup with 2.7 seconds remaining was the difference maker.

Leading the Mustangs was sophomore Noah Richardson-Keys with 27 points, four steals, and seven rebounds. Senior Talik Totten followed with 19 points while sophomore Joshua Tyler added 17.

Clark led the Royals with 19 points.

MACU hosts Blue Lights College Saturday at 2:00 pm.

Image courtesy regentroyals.com

Blue Lights Holds Off MACU Rally in Shootout 120-113

APEX, N.C. – It was an offense-lover’s dream.

Blue Lights College and Mid-Atlantic Christian set a new record for points scored in an NSAC contest Tuesday night as the Thoroughbreds held off a late Mustang rally 120-113.

BLC (10-5 overall, 3-1 NSAC) scored the first five points and continued the scoring onslaught until halftime, leading 63-47 at the break. They increased the lead to as many as 19 in the second half before MACU began to chip away at the margin.

Mid-Atlantic (4-13, 2-2) maintained its poise and began to convert turnovers into points, eventually trimming the lead to four before the Thoroughbreds used the free throw line to seal the deal in the final minute.

Point guard Sam Benton, Jr. set a new BLC scoring with 47 points, eclipsing the old mark of 45 set by Jorge Garcia in 2018.

The win puts Blue Lights in a tie with Apprentice for second place in the NSAC standings at 3-1 with both teams claiming a win over the other. Atlantis remains technically at the top, having won its only conference game to this point.

MACU Knocks Off #5 Manor 98-91

JENKINTOWN, Pa. – Mid-Atlantic Christian put together what could arguably be its best performance of the season in defeating Manor College on the road Saturday afternoon 98-91.

The Mustangs (4-12 overall, 2-1 NSAC) trailed by six at the half, but regrouped after the intermission to take the lead and pull away for the win over the USCAA fifth-ranked Blue Jays (7-3).

“This game had a lot on the line for the team,” said MACU coach Charles Sims. “Another opportunity, this time facing the number five-ranked team in USCAA DI men’s basketball. The players each knew how much this game meant in order for us to turn around the season. They made up in their minds that we would not go back to Elizabeth City with a loss, and we didn’t.”

Three Mustangs recorded double-doubles, led by Noah Richardson-Keys who lit it up for a game-high 37 points with 11 rebounds and five assists. Josh Tyler drained 23 points with 10 boards, and Carlos Raven contributed 17 and 10, respectively.

MACU continues its road stretch Tuesday at NSAC opponent Blue Lights College.

Photo credit Charles Sims/MACU Athletics

Bruin Rally Spoils Hot Mustang Start 89-80

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Mid-Atlantic Christian raced out to a 20-0 lead but failed to hold off Carolina University’s comeback in falling 89-80 Saturday.

The Mustangs (3-11 overall, 2-0 NSAC), looking to turn around their fortunes in what had been a disappointing start to their season, looked like world beaters in the opening five minutes of the contest. But the Bruins (4-12) began to claw back into the game and trimmed the margin to nine, 43-34, at the half. The second frame belonged to CU, who shot 64.7% after intermission to pull away for the win. Carolina made good use of its reserves, holding a 29-4 advantage in points off the bench.

Noah Richardson-Keys led the Herd with 22 points. Talik Totten and Josh Tyler added 16 points each, and Carlos Raven contributed 13. Carolina’s Adam Claybourne led all scorers with 26.

Great Ships Classic to Feature Two NSAC Contests

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Apprentice School Department of Athletics is set to host the Great Ships Classic basketball tournament this weekend at the Apprentice School Athletics Center.

Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, six different institutions will come to Newport News to take part in the tournament. On the women’s side, Cheyney, Clinton, and Washington Adventist will participate, while the men’s side will include Central International, Central Penn, and Mid-Atlantic Christian.

Saturday at 4:00 pm, the CIC and MACU men’s teams will tangle in an NSAC rematch. The Mustangs (1-7 overall, 1-0 NSAC) nipped the Cardinals 101-77 on November 8 in Elizabeth City. On Sunday, second-ranked Apprentice (6-3) will face Central (5-4, 0-1) at 6:00 pm. It will be the Builders’ first conference game of the year.

Games each day will start at 12 p.m. with four games happening per day. The Builder basketball teams will play the first two games of the day Saturday and the last two on Sunday.

Story and Image courtesy gobuilders.com

Mustangs Fall at St. Augustine’s 89-53

RALEIGH, NC –The Saint Augustine’s men’s basketball team shot 56.2 percent from three-point range on the way to an 89-53 win against the Mid-Atlantic Christian Mustangs at home Wednesday.

The Falcons (4-5) had six players score in double figures, led by Nemo Johnson, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Caleb Gilmore added 11 points off of the bench and Joshua Johnson helped out with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals off of the bench.

MACU (1-7) was led by Carlos Raven’s 10 points.

Story and image courtesy saintaugfalcons.com

Key Matchups Highlight Post-Thanksgiving Slate This Week

After a needed Thanksgiving Day break, New South teams return to action this week to a slate of interesting matchups. 

Blue Lights opens the week on Tuesday by hosting the JV team from Livingstone, The Thoroughbreds (4-2) hope to end a two-game slide by getting key players back from injuries. 

Wednesday night is Rivalry Night in Miami as Atlantis (3-2) hosts cross-town foe United International College.  

It’s officially called the Roger Taylor Classic, but Apprentice (5-1) and MACU (1-4) consider the weekend of games in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to be the “NSAC-USA South Showdown.” On Friday, the Builders face Greensboro College and the Thoroughbreds tackle NC Wesleyan. They switch opponents on Saturday.  

Central International (4-4) gets back to action on Monday, December 4, taking on a much-improved Patrick Henry College team.  

Lighthouse (5-2) will try to knock the rust off from a two-week layoff when it travels to Atlantis on December 6. It will mark the first-ever NSAC conference game for both teams. 

Mustangs Drop Exhibition at NCCU

DURHAM, N.C. – Redshirt senior Ja’Darius Harris and junior Keishon Porter lit up McDougald-McLendon Arena from distance, combining for seven three-pointers in NCCU’s 113-50 victory over Mid-Atlantic Christian in an exhibition game Tuesday evening.

Sophomore forward Joshua Tyler led the Mustangs with 15 points.

“Our goal was to work on our defense and score 50 points,” MACU coach Charles Sims said after the game. “We did that. One of their players said to me, ‘You’re changing the defense every time down the floor.’ I told him, ‘ We have to keep you on your toes.'”

“Our guys know that this is a process. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re in a good place,” said Sims.

The Mustangs (1-2 overall, 1-0 NSAC) face cross-town rival Elizabeth City State tonight.

Story details courtesy nccueaglepride.com; image courtesy gomacumustangs.com

Three Ball Pushes MACU Past CIC 101-77

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Mid-Atlantic Christian’s long-range game was the difference maker Tuesday night as the Mustangs put away Central International 101-77 in the NSAC Tipoff Classic.

The Mustangs (1-1 overall, 1-0 NSAC) shot 46.7% (14 of 30) from beyond the arc, almost as good as they did from the floor overall (46.8%). The Cardinals (3-2, 0-1) shot a good 50% from the floor, but only mustered 3 of 14 (21.4%) from three.

MACU opened on a 9-0 run before CIC got on the board, then stretched the lead to as much as 16 before intermission. Central used a 12-2 run to claw back in the second half, trimming the lead to 64-60 with less than 12 minutes to play, but could get no closer as the Herd used a 14-3 run of its own to put the game away.

“Today’s game was good for the players as they came together collectively as a group to achieve the first home game victory,” MACU coach Charles Sims said after the game. “From the onset they made up in their minds that this game was going to be a statement game. We still have areas of the game that we need to improve in, too. We will continue to take the approach of one game at a time mentality.”

Junior Carlos Raven led the Mustangs with 21 points, while CIC’s Sincere Moore led all scorers with 24.

Image courtesy USCAA Sports Network/MACU