GREENSBORO -- Winston-Salem State men's basketball coach Bobby Collins was thrilled to be playing in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Collins believes playing away from North Carolina A&T's Corbett Sports Center, where the Aggies' student section The Dawg Pound resides, helped his Rams overcome a 15-point second half deficit to defeat the Aggies 79-74 Monday night.
"I thought it was to our advantage when the game was moved to the coliseum,'' said Collins. "They have a tremendous atmosphere at Corbett. The Dawg Pound is right on top of you, and when they get going it's hard to stay focused. If we go down 15 in Corbett, we probably don't win the game."
N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves also enjoyed being at the Greensboro Coliseum on Monday where the two teams played in front of 5,038 fans. But he didn't see the venue as a reason why the Aggies lost their double-digit lead.
"We're just a funny team,'' said Eaves. "We score 43 points in the first half, and then we turn around and score 18 points in 17 minutes. Consistency is the mark of a good team. We are not a good team because we are not a good team from game to game and half to half."
Rams guard Brian Fisher, who scored 25 points on 6-for-7 shooting from 3-point range, led the charge back. Earlier this season, the Rams overcame an 18-point deficit to beat N.C. A&T in Winston-Salem. But that lead was established in the first half.
On Monday, the Aggies went up 15 when Robert Johnson set up in the high post and hit a cutting Tavarus Alston with a bounce pass as Alston went to the basket for a layup to give N.C. A&T a 52-37 lead with 17 minutes remaining. Over the next 10 minutes, the Rams chipped away at that lead.
Andrew Jackson's 3-pointer with 7:24 remaining gave the Rams a 64-61 lead. It was their first lead of the game. The Rams went through a stretch where they scored on eight of nine possessions.
"Winston-Salem shot it so well,'' said Eaves. "They shot 67 percent from the three in the second half. When you shoot it like that you deserve to win."
Another Jackson three gave the Rams a 69-63 lead with 5:09 to play. Dwane Joshua was able to get that lead down to 71-68 on a layup with three minutes remaining. But two free throws from Jackson and backbreaking 3-pointer by Fisher gave the Rams a 76-68 lead with just 90 seconds to go.
"It's their Super Bowl because they don't have a tournament to play in,'' said Eaves. "That's not an excuse for us. We should have matched their intensity. We did not."
Paul Davis contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds on 6-for-6 shooting for the Rams. The Aggies were led by Alston's 20 points and four assists. Joshua hit four 3-pointers and had 19 points. For the first time in 10 games, the Aggies allowed an opponent to shoot better than 45 percent.
The good news for the Aggies is that the game didn't count toward their conference record. Despite the non-conference status of the game and Winston-Salem State's move back to Division II, neither coach ruled out playing the game again in future seasons. Eaves did say it will not likely be next season because the Aggies already have three in-state opponents on the schedule next season with N.C. Central, UNC Greensboro and UNC Wilmington.
The Aggies return to MEAC play on Saturday when they travel to Baltimore to face Coppin State. They go back to Corbett Sports Center on March 4 when they face Norfolk State. It will be the regular-season finale for the Aggies as they will celebrate Senior Day.
