EAST GREENSBORO – In the waning seconds of Thursday night's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) men's basketball contest at Corbett Sports Center, North Carolina A&T had a chance to win the game against the Delaware Blue Hens. But Marcus Watson's attempt to win the game with a three rimmed out, giving the Blue Hens a 73-71 win.
The Aggies lost their fourth straight and six out of their last seven to drop to 12-18 overall and 7-10 in the CAA. Delaware moved into a sixth-place tie with A&T at 15-15 overall and 7-10 in league play. It sets up a key matchup for A&T on Saturday when they face fellow HBCU CAA school Hampton at 2 p.m., inside Corbett.
"Hampton is a must-win for us," said A&T interim head coach Phillip Shumpert. "February has been a tough month for us. Whenever you think you're getting over the hump, you get an injury to another big. We haven't had Jeremy Robinson (6-foot-6) in the month of February. Duncan Powell (6-8) is playing well, but Jeremy was a glue guy in terms of providing us more toughness around the basket. Hopefully, we can get him back soon."
Powell has scored in double figures in his last three games, including his 19-point, seven-rebound performance on Thursday. It was a pass from the high post from Austin Johnson to Powell for a dunk that gave the Aggies a 47-37 lead 4 1/2 minutes into the second half. But over the next 5 1/2 minutes, the Blue Hens outscored the Aggies 16-6 to tie the game at 53 on two Jameer Nelson, Jr. free throws.
Delaware grew its lead to 61-57 on a Nelson 3-pointer with 4:55 remaining in the game. But on A&T's ensuing possession, Watson elevated above the rim and threw down a slam to cut the lead to two before spotting up and splashing a three to give the Aggies a 62-61 lead with 3:53 remaining on the clock. Watson ended his night with three steals and a team-leading 21 points.
But Delaware's LJ Owens, returning from injury after missing the Blue Hens' last eight games, responded with a three to give Delaware a 64-62 advantage. The two teams went through three ties and six lead changes over the game's final three minutes, including Watson's cross-court pass to Powell for a 3-pointer that gave A&T a 69-68 lead with 1:05 to play.
Two Nelson free throws gave the Blue Hens the lead back before Watson again exploded past the Delaware defense for another dunk to put A&T in front 71-70.
But Nelson, who followed his 39-point performance against UNC Wilmington with 30 against A&T Thursday night, got inside the paint again and scored on a layup to give the Blue Hens a 72-71 advantage. Nelson scored 21 of his 30 in the second half.
"He's probably the best guard we've seen in this league. He's athletic, his motor never stops and he's lightning quick," said Shumpert. "He kept getting paint touches and hit a few threes tonight. We couldn't stop him from getting in the paint. He shot nine free throws and got seven rebounds. We did a good job on him at first, but he kept coming after us until he got it going."
After Nelson's layup, the Aggies hurried the ball up the floor. Believing he had the matchup he wanted on Watson, Shumpert decided not to call timeout hoping a drive to the basket would win the game. But instead, Watson's jump shot was off the mark.
"It came down to the wire. Watson came down and had a nice dunk the play before, and I thought rather than try to set up something, we had the same mismatch on him," said Shumpert. "I thought he would go back to the basket and try to score and get fouled. That was the game plan."
After Nelson made one of two free throws, the Aggies had a chance to tie the game with 1.6 seconds remaining. Watson caught a full-length pass and attempted a turnaround jumper that had a chance but rimmed out to give the Blue Hens the win.
Two other Aggies scored in double figures, including sophomore Kam Woods, who had 15 points and nine rebounds. Webster Filmore came off the bench to score 11 points and grab six rebounds.
