BALTIMORE - North Carolina A&T had the ball in the hands of its best player, but the shot and the Aggies came up short as Morgan State defeated the Aggies 68-66 Monday night at Hill Field House.
"It was a tough way to lose," said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. "Both teams played hard. It was unfortunate the way my young men lost the game."
N.C. A&T junior guard Marc Hill drove the lane and scored on a layup with 19 seconds remaining. Larry Bastfield fouled Hill on the play, leading to a Hill free throw that tied the game at 66.
Seconds later Coleman was whistled for a foul against DeWayne Jackson. Jackson hit both free throws to give the Bears a two-point lead. Hill tried to give the Aggies the lead, but his 3-pointer went long as Kevin Thompson was fouled on the rebound. Thompson missed the front end of the 1-and-1.
Coleman grabbed the rebound with five seconds remaining. He began racing down the floor, ran into a crowd of Morgan State players around the basket and saw his shot roll off the rim.
"Thomas Coleman is a tremendous athlete who can do so many things on the floor," said Eaves. "We didn't have any reservations about him bringing the ball up the floor with the game on the line. He leads the break all the time in practice."
Coleman had another stellar game for the Aggies with 20 points and 11 rebounds. It was his 15th double-double of the season. Austin Witter came off the bench to score 10 points.
North Carolina A&T lost its third straight to fall to 9-13 overall and 4-4 in the MEAC. Morgan State improved to 10-9 and 6-2. Jackson finished with 18 points to lead the Bears, while Bastfield added 15 points and six assists.
The Aggies travel to Dover, Del., to face Delaware State Saturday afternoon at 4.
