The Eagles’ motivation and heart led them to 31- 28 victory over Bowie State at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium Saturday.

BSU won the last three meetings, with the Eagles’ last win in 1996. This was NCCU’s first win against a CIAA Eastern Division opponent this season.

The Eagles dug a hole for themselves in the first half with penalties, dropped balls and a fumble, leaving them trailing 14-7 at the half.

“We gave them 14 points in the first half,” said coach Rod Broadway. “We knew if we played and didn’t give them anything, it would be a good ball game.”

After halftime, the Bulldogs scored again to go up 21-7. With 20 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter, the Eagles scored on a 50-yard punt fake by Luis George, which swung the momentum back to the Eagles for good.

“I knew the defense they were running was open and it was my turn to make a play.” defensive back Luis George said. “Nobody touched me.”

The Eagles went on to score 21 straight points to take a 28-21 lead late in the fourth quarter including the game winning field goal by Brandon Gilbert with 1:52 to go.

The Eagles’ defense played solid the entire game, while the offense struggled to sustain drives through the first three quarters. Winning was big for NCCU.