DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - C.J. Reed hit a runner just outside the lane over
Dwane Joshua with four seconds remaining to give Bethune-Cookman a 66-65 win Monday night at Moore Gymnasium.
Joshua led the Aggies with 15 points. Senior guard Tavarus Alston finished 13, and junior center Thomas Coleman had 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks.
"(Bethune-Cookman head coach) Cliff Reed got the ball to his best player,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. "He made a very tough shot. I thought Dwane Joshua played great defense. He was all over him."
Just seconds earlier it appeared Joshua would be the hero. After two missed threes and two offensive rebounds by the Aggies, sophomore guard Nic Simpson drove the ball into the lane and dished it out to a wide open Joshua in the corner for a 3-pointer that gave the Aggies a 65-64 lead with 28.8 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats called timeout after Joshua's three so Cliff Reed could call a play for center Albert Abrahams. Abrahams had given the Aggies problems all night. He finished with 19 points on 9-for-10 shooting. But Reed said when he saw the Aggies were not going to double his son C.J.; he scrapped his previous plans and told C.J. Reed to penetrate to the basket.
"We wanted to make (C.J.) put it on the floor and hit a tough shot,'' said Eaves. "We were ready for them to drop into their big man because we saw him check into the game after the timeout. Again, he just hit an incredible shot."
The Aggies had one last crack at winning the game, but Alston's 3-pointer came up short. But before all the drama, Eaves felt like the Aggies limited their chances to win by allowing the Wildcats to grab 18 offensive rebounds for the game.
The Aggies trailed by as many as nine in the second half. But when Coleman grabbed a defensive board and went all the way to the basket for a layup, the Aggies took a 52-51 lead with 11:20 to play. Over the next three minutes of the game, the Wildcats grabbed four offensive rebounds. Reed's offensive board led to a Jarrell Thomas jump shot that gave the Wildcats a 59-54 lead with 6:54 to play.
"We have to clear out the offensive rebounds pickup the loose balls,'' said Eaves. "That's what lost the game for us. We have to grow up and become more physical and go get the ball. We're a good team, but until we become men and rebound that basketball, we'll always come up a little short."
Reed, a preseason first-team All-MEAC selection, added 15 points on 6-for-18 shooting for the Wildcats (10-6, 3-0 MEAC). The Aggies dropped to 5-11 overall and 1-2 in the MEAC. After playing 14 of their first 16 games on the road, the Aggies will return to Corbett Sports Center on Saturday to face Howard at 4 p.m.
