DURHAM - Imagine what happens when the game actually counts.
North Carolina A&T and N.C. Central put forth another back-and-forth battle in front of another sellout crowd with the Aggies coming away with a 72-67 win at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium on Monday night. The game featured an amazing 19 lead changes.
Thomas Coleman recovered from his worst game of the season on Saturday to finish with 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Adrian Powell had 13 points, including a pivotal 3-point play that clinched the win for N.C. A&T (13-15). The two longtime rivals split the season series with each team winning on the other's home floor.
"This game is Duke-Carolina," said Eaves. "This was a dog fight. They hit so many big shots, and I was proud of my guys because we hit some big ones too. This truly is one of the best rivalries in the country with two of the best fan bases in the country. The rivalry is everything people said it was."
Thomas Coleman gave the Aggies a one-point lead thanks to a lob pass in the post from Austin Witter with 1:44 remaining. Marc Hill extended the Aggies lead to 67-63 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. C.J. Wilkerson hit two free throws to get the Eagles to within two with 46 seconds to play.
On the ensuing inbounds play, the Eagles' pressure defense forced Witter to throw the ball away, giving the Eagles a chance to tie the game for the 10th time. Landon Clement instead went for the lead as he launched a 3-pointer from deep in the corner. His three banged off the back iron and into the hands of Marc Hill.
Hill raced to the other end of the floor and found Powell along the baseline for a layup. He was fouled on the play, went to the free throw line and converted to give the Aggies a commanding 70-65 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
"We played much better defense on them than we did in Greensboro," said Coleman, whose 9-for-10 shooting night helped the Aggies shoot 54 percent. "We changed our defense a little bit. We trapped and switched a little more, and we didn't let their shooters go right as much. We wanted to get this one back after they beat us in our gym."
Eagles' shooters C.J. Wilkerson and Clement were a combined 9-for-22 from 3-point range. Nick Chasten went 3-for-4 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 24 points. Wilkerson and Clement had 20 and 17 respectively.
"This is the fun part of the season," said Eaves. "All of our remaining games are going to be just like this - wars. When this one counts in the conference, it's going to be even better for both teams."
