DURHAM — These are not the best of times for Livingstone’s football team.

The 1-7 Blue Bears have suffered enough injuries to fill a medical journal and the young talent head coach Greg Richardson has talked about often looks more young than talented.

Then again, Richardson and the Monroe Streeters were somewhat encouraged by their performance — uneven as it was — in Saturday’s 30-8 CIAA loss at North Carolina Central.

“We see glimpses of things being done right,” the third-year coach said after last-place Livingstone surrendered 420 yards offense and fell to 0-6 in the conference. “But that’s all we see. We’re gonna get better. It’s just that right now, we can’t seem to get it done.”

The Bears were done by the third quarter yesterday, when NCCU(4-4, 2-3 CIAA) scored two touchdowns and extended a 10-0 halftime lead. LC tackled like a flag-football team, allowing the hosts to gain 336 yards on the ground and possess the ball for nearly 38 minutes.

“We’ve got to start bringing our feet to the point of contact instead of reaching for guys,” linebacker Jason Ocean said after making 21 tackles. “When we do exactly what the coaches tell us to do, everything works. But as soon as we try to do our own thing, and get outside the scheme, we give up big plays.”

They gave up a huge one to NCCU tailback Donnie Pippen in the third period. The 208-pound sophomore broke through the LC defensive wall and zig-zagged his way for 47 yards through the secondary. Only a diving tackle by Michael Posey at the 6-yard line prevented Pippen from scoring.

“We didn’t have anybody on the pitch-man,” said Ocean. “We made one mistake on that play, and that was it. It kind of broke our spirit.”

Livingstone’s offense proved ineffective — mustering only 39 yards rushing and 180 total — except for a textbook touchdown drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters. With freshman quarterback David Melton in the pilot’s seat, the Bears advanced 73 yards in nine plays and scored when Melton fired a 6-yard completion to the dangerous senior Shannon Gainey, who lunged to grab the low fastball with 13:24 remaining.

“I found a little hole and Dave zipped it in there,” Gainey reported. “I still have a little headache from hitting the ground.”

Gainey caught five passes for 69 yards, but dropped as many catchable balls. “We’re not making the plays when we’re supposed to,” he said. “And that’s a perfect example. I should have had a few more catches.”

“The name of the game is making plays,” Richardson said. “They did. We didn’t. They played better. We just didn’t deserve to win it.”

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NOTES: LC celebrates homecoming next Saturday when Benedict College pays a 2 p.m. visit. ... Gainey entered play averaging a conference-best 61.4 yards receiving per game. Ocean leads the league with 125 tackles.