North Carolina Central University

ATHLETICS

                             RALEIGH, NC---In the evening's first semi-final at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic
                             Association Men's Tournament, the North Carolina Central University Eagles kept hope alive for
                             their first CIAA Championship since 1950, with a 64-54 upset of third-ranked Virginia Union
                             University. 

                             The Eagles (17-8) will face the winner of the Winston-Salem State University/Johnson C. Smith
                             University semi-final. 

                             The game was tied at 52 at the three-minute mark of the second half when Brett Harper gave the
                             Eagles the lead at 2:19 when he sank one-of-two free throws. The Panthers (24-3) threw it away
                             on the ensuing possession and the Eagles went up four as Harper connected on a long 3-pointer. 

                             The Panthers, who were handed two of their three losses by the Eagles, threw it away on their
                             next two possessions as well, and the Eagles added two free throws by Gordon Tucker to push
                             the lead to 58-52 with just over a minute left. Harper would go to the line and sink six more free
                             throws in the game's closing moments. 

                             One day after struggling for eight points in the quarterfinal, Harper was spectacular as he finished
                             with a game-high 23 points and five assists. Jimmy Boston, Warren Bell and Gordon Tucker
                             each chipped in with eight points apiece. 

                             The Panthers were paced by Christian Anderson who had 19 points and three assists. Alphonzo
                             Taylor added 10 points and Chandar Bingham had nine points and nine rebounds. 

                             Both teams shot well in the first half. The big difference was that the Panthers (11-22) had to hit
                             tough shots while the Eagles (11-23) were getting open looks at the basket. 

                             The Eagles took advantage of their open looks, especially from behind the arc as they sank
                             four-of-nine. Harper banged home two while Tucker and Damon Lumpkin had one apiece.  

                             That shooting let the Eagles jump out to a 7-0 start and they led by as many as nine (30-21), but
                             a last-second layup by Anderson cut the lead to 30-23 at halftime.  

                             The Panthers drew even for the first time at 12:20 in the second half on a jumper by Anderson
                             and took their first lead of the game (42-41) at 8:52 on a two-handed dunk by Bingham, assisted
                             by Robert Johnson. 

Last Revised:  February 26, 2000