GREENSBORO - The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team is in a trend it hopes to end as the 2010 MEAC Tournament approaches. The Aggies are having trouble holding on to leads.
For the third time in four games, the Aggies surrendered a double-digit second-half lead. This time it was Norfolk State who rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit to defeat the Aggies 67-66 Thursday night at Corbett Sports Center.
The most unfortunate part of it all was that it occurred on senior night as the Aggies honored James Porter, Robert Johnson, Tavarus Alston and Dwane Joshua before the game.
"I feel bad for my seniors,'' said Aggies head coach Jerry Eaves. "It's been a frustrating year for them. It always seems like something seems to bite them. Some of the things are self-inflicted because we don't play smart. The bottom line is we didn't rotate back defensively tonight, and it allowed them to score 42 points in the second half."
Brandon Wheeles hit two free throws with three seconds remaining to give the Spartans the win. Twenty-one of NSU's 42 second-half points went to Michael Deloach. Deloach finished with 37 points on 14-for-27 shooting.
It was not only Deloach who hurt the Aggies. The Aggies connected on just one field goal over the fist nine minutes of the second half, and they were just 5-for-31 from the floor in the second half. Deloach's 3-pointer as he was falling back because of outstanding defense from Joshua tied the game at 59 with 6:12 remaining.
After a Johnson free throw gave the Aggies a one-point lead, Spartans center Kelly O'Quinn gave the Spartans their first lead since the 18:43 mark of the first half with two free throws. Two Deloach free throws pushed that lead to three at 63-60 before Alston pulled up just inside the 3-point arc to put the Aggies down one.
On Norfolk State's next possession, Deloach drew a foul from Alston, and was able to knock down two more free throws to give the Spartans a 65-62 lead. Johnson moved the Aggies back to within one with two more free throws with 1:44 remaining. After finally forcing a Deloach miss, Joshua pulled down the rebound and got it to Alston.
Alston knocked down another 15-footer to give the Aggies a 66-65 lead with 11 seconds remaining. The Spartans predictably went to Deloach to win the game, but Thomas Coleman blocked his shot. Tim Zephyr grabbed the offensive rebound, but missed the follow. Brandon Wheeles picked up the loose ball and was fouled, setting up his game-winning free throws.
"This wasn't luck,'' said Eaves. "We did things to lose this game. They did things to win it. We didn't rotate back as a group. We didn't make any layups in the second half at all. All year we have not been consistent in doing the things that help you win."
The Aggies dropped to 10-20 overall and 6-10 in the MEAC. They will go into the MEAC Tournament as the No. 9 seed. Their first game will be 9 p.m., Tuesday against Howard from Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The Bison defeated the Aggies twice this season.
Sophomore Nic Simpson and Joshua led the Aggies with 13 points apiece on Thursday. Alston added 11 points and four assists.
"We have at least one more game to play,'' said Eaves. "It's do or die. We are not frightened to play anyone in our conference. The big thing is whether my young men can stay focused for 40 minutes. That is our issue."
