WINSTON-SALEM - The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team went through a horrific scoring drought in the first half against arch-rival Winston-Salem State Monday night at Joel Coliseum. The Aggies overcame that to take a lead late in the game. And then at the wrong moment, the drought occurred again, and the Rams came away with a 59-57 win.
"We turned the ball over way too many times in the first half,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves, who suffered through watching the Aggies turn the ball over 17 times in the first half. "We cut down on the turnovers in the second half, but we just didn't execute the way we should have down the stretch. We didn't get after the loose balls that would have won us the game."
After the Aggies won battle for a loose ball, Thomas Coleman's dunk gave the Aggies a 47-42 lead with just under seven minutes remaining. N.C. A&T could not pull away from the Rams, despite the fact that the Rams struggled from the free throw line and the field. In fact, the Aggies next field goal did not come until there was 29 seconds remaining in the game.
The Aggies still held a 50-46 lead after Nic Simpson hit two free throws with 2 ½ minutes remaining. It would seem the Aggies were in a good position, considering to that point the Rams had scored just 12 points in the second half.
The Rams' offense got back on track as their pressure defense began to take its toll on the Aggies. A Paul Davis layup was followed by an Aggies turnover, which led to a Shelton Carter 3-pointer that put the Rams ahead 51-50 with 1:45 remaining. The Rams never relinquished the lead again.
Another Aggies turnover led to a 3-point play by Marcus Wells. When Wells knocked down two more free throws, the Rams had a 56-50 lead with 36 seconds remaining. The Rams were led by Wells and Davis who had 12 points apiece. Tavarus Alston had 17 points on four 3-pointers made.
Behind three 3-pointers from Alston in the first four minutes of the game, the Aggies took an 18-4 lead. The Rams inserted a quicker lineup to execute their press. It worked. The Aggies turned the ball over 10 times over the next 10 minutes as the Rams took a 23-22 lead with 6:21 remaining in the first half.
"After Tavarus got us going, their pressure defense really took us out of what we wanted to do,'' said Eaves. "We scored just six points in the last 15 minutes of the first half, which was disturbing because we prepared for their pressure. But when they started pressing, we simply didn't react well."
The Aggies begin a four-game homestand starting Saturday when they host Coppin State at 2 p.m.
