NCCU’s quest for a four-peat ends as MEAC cancels rest of basketball tournament
.JPG "North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Moton directs his team during an NCAA college basketball game against Norfolk State in the championship of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Norfolk, Va.")
The MEAC fell in line with other athletic conferences and cancelled the rest of its conference basketball tournament in Norfolk, Va. after two games on Thursday.
While most major conferences cancelled their basketball tournaments due to the threat of the coronavirus early Thursday, the MEAC started its tournament as scheduled with an afternoon women’s game between North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T.
At 4:16 p.m., the league released a statement confirming that the remainder of the tournament was suspended. The MEAC also announced that all spring sports will be suspended through the end of the 2020 spring semester.
The North Carolina Central men’s basketball team entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and regular-season champs. The Eagles defeated Delaware State Wednesday night in their first game of the tournament. Since the tournament was cut short, the NCCU men’s team were named conference champs.
The Eagles’ women’s team played two games in Norfolk and won both before their tournament run was cut short.
The final contest of the day was Morgan State defeating Delaware State, 54-53, in the women’s quarterfinals.
Shortly after the MEAC announcement, the NCAA announced the cancellation of the men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments.
