NORFOLK, Va. - After senior guard
Tavarus Alston missed a game-winning shot against Lamar last week, North Carolina A&T men's basketball coach
Jerry Eaves had one message for him. "We still believe in you."
The hope was that statement would help Alston believe himself. On Saturday night, it appeared the statement not only helped Alston, but it also helped the entire Aggies rotation. The Aggies put together a true team effort to rally from a 10-point second-half deficit to knock off conference foe Norfolk State 93-84 in overtime at Echols Hall.
Several players, including Alston, hit key shots down the stretch to help the Aggies earn a valuable road win in the conference.
Alston finished with 23 points and five assists. Dwane Joshua also had 23 points, while Nic Simpson added 17 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. James Porter came off the bench to score 10 points, grab 10 rebounds and block two shots. He also took two charges.
"I want all my young men to go out there, have fun and try to be the best player on the floor,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. "I want to instill that in them now because I think that's what we've been missing in the (MEAC) tournament. I want 10 guys going out there believing they are the best 10 basketball players in the world. We need that to have the confidence to go out and win on a consistent basis."
Norfolk State took the lead at the 9:28 mark of the first half and did not surrender it again until Alston connected on a 15-footer to tie the game at 75 with 2:15 remaining. Dwane Joshua gave the Aggies the lead after a missed Alston 3-pointer resulted in a rebound by NSU's James Williams.
Williams turned the ball over seconds later, and Joshua capitalized with a runner in the lane for a 77-75 Aggies lead with 1:14 remaining in regulation. NSU's Kyle O'Quinn tied the game at 77 in regulation off of his own miss and put-back.
But by this time, it appeared the Aggies had captured the confidence Eaves was seeking. Robert Johnson opened the overtime by hitting two mid-range jump shots to give the Aggies an 81-77 lead. O'Quinn answered by knocking down his third 3-pointer of the game to move the Spartans to within one.
After an Aggies miss, the Spartans had a chance to take the lead, but Rob Hampton missed two layups. Those two layups would turn the momentum in the Aggies favor. Joshua would miss a 3-pointer from the corner, but Thomas Coleman grabbed the offensive rebound, tossed the ball out to a wide open Alston for a 3-pointer that the Aggies an 84-80 lead with 2:44 remaining.
On the Spartans next possession, Norfolk State's Michael Deloatch dribbled the ball off his foot. Joshua got the steal, tossed it ahead to Alston who raced toward the basket. As Alston scored on the layup, Deloatch collided with Joshua as both men trailed the play.
Deloatch was called for an intentional foul. Joshua hit one of two free throws to give the Aggies a commanding 87-80 lead with 2:03 remaining.
"It was a huge call,'' said Eaves. "Tavarus was clearly at the basket and (Deloatch) simply ran over Dwane. You need moments like that to help you win road games. I'm glad it went our way."
Things weren't going the Aggies way midway through the second half. O'Quinn's baseline jumper gave the Spartans a 65-55 lead. But a 7-0 run by N.C. A&T was capped off by a Marc Hill scoop shot over the 6-10 O'Quinn pulled the Aggies back into the game with 8:35 to play.
"Any time you can get a road win in your first conference game against a team of Norfolk State's caliber it's huge,'' said Eaves about a Norfolk State that was picked to finish third in the MEAC. "(The players) stayed with it. They didn't give up on the system even though we weren't hitting shots. I told them if they stuck with the system, things we would eventually start going our way."
The Aggies improved to 4-5 overall and 1-0 in the MEAC. Norfolk State was led by O'Quinn who had 25 points. Deloatch added 20 and Hampton had 18 points and 20 rebounds for the 1-7 Spartans.
