2022-23 DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY MEN'S BASKETBALL
 "HORNETS" (5-19; 3-6 MEAC) vs. No. Carolina Central "EAGLES" (12–11; 5-4 MEAC)
Sat. Feb. 18, 2023 - 4:00 p.m.
Dover, Del. (Memorial Hall—Bayhealth Court) - 1,800
Live Video: YouTube (DESU-TV)                             
Live Audio: HSRN.com

THE GAME 
Delaware State (5-19; 3-6 MEAC) begins a two-game homestand with a league contest against North Carolina Central. The Hornets, currently sixth in the MEAC standings, have dropped their last two games, including a 97-58 thumping at Norfolk State on Monday. The loss was Delaware State's 15th loss in a row to the Spartans. O'Koye Parker continued his recent hot streak for the Hornets, coming off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, highlighted by four three-point field goals on six attempts in the last game. Parker has tallied 59 points and 11 three-pointers (on 16 attempts) in the last three games.  Martaz Robinson scored in double-figures for the seventh straight game with 12 points (8-9 FT), while Raymond Somerville added 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Hornets in the last game. For the season, Brandon Stone is tops on the Hornets in scoring at 11.6 points per game and he's tied for the team rebounding lead at 5.3 per game. Robinson has climbed to second on the Hornets in scoring (10.8 ppg) and is tied with Stone for the team rebounding lead, in addition to ranking second on the club with 65 assists. Fellow guard Khyrie State is the Hornets' third-leading scorer at 9.4 points per game.  
 
North Carolina Central (12-11; 5-4 MEAC) has won its last two games, and currently stands fourth in the league standings. The Eagles are coming off an 85-52 rout of Coppin State in their last outing on Feb. 13. Kris Monroe led four double-figure scorers for NCCU with a game-high 25 points on nine-for-17 shooting from the field, including four three-point field goals (4-10). Monroe also led all players in the game with 16 rebounds. Marque Maultsby added 18 points and Brendan Medley-Bacon 17 for the Eagles in their last contest. Justin Wright is tops on the team and fifth in the MEAC in scoring at 15.5 points per game. Medley-Bacon is 10th in the league with a 12.2 point per-game average. Monroe ranks fourth in the MEAC in rebounding at 6.1 per-game.                       
 
THE SERIES  (NCCU leads 31-17)
This is the second meeting between the Hornets and Eagles this season. North Carolina Central  won the first contest 74-55 on Jan. 21 in Durham, N.C., its sixth straight win in the series.
Brendan Medley-Bacon led four double-figure scorers for NCCU with a game-high 21 points, while teammate Kris Monroe had 15 points and topped all players with 13 rebounds in the first meeting this season. Khyrie Staten came off the bench to lead Delaware State with 13 points on five-of-seven shooting from the field, including three-of-five on three-point shots. Ray Somerville added 12 points for the Hornets on six-for-nine shooting. He also tied for the team-lead with six rebounds. Jevin Muniz also had three three-point shots on six attempts to highlight an 11-point performance for the Hornets. Delaware State held its only lead of the game, 16-15, after a three-pointer by Staten at the 10:51 mark of the first half. North Carolina Central outscored the Hornets 19-8 the rest of the half, and led 34-24 at the break. After the Eagles were ahead by as many as 18 points in the second half, Delaware State could get no closer than 10 the rest of the way.