GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T redshirt freshman forward Lewis Walker muscled his way into knocking down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lead the Aggies to an 82-79 over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in non-conference men's basketball play at Corbett Sports Center on Saturday night.
It was a remarkable shot for a player who struggled from the field all night but helped the Aggies rally from a 14-point deficit with his free throw shooting. Walker attempted 18 free throws against the Hawks, making 17 of them. Walker was shy of breaking the Aggies' single-game record set by Lamont Middleton, who made 18 free throws on February 8, 2014, at home against Florida A&M.
His game-winner made him 2-for-9 from the floor, giving him 22 points. It marked the fourth time this season Walker has scored 20 or more. Junior Trent Middleton, Jr. tied a career-high with seven assists, and sophomore Zamoku Weluche-Ume added 13 points and a career-high nine rebounds as the Aggies improved to 5-4. UMES dropped to 4-10 overall despite 20 points and six rebounds from Jaden Cooper.
"I trust him in those situations, said A&T head coach Monté Ross about Walker. "And that's big for me to say for a freshman. But like I've said, every morning I walk into the gym, he's in there. When I get to the office, he's in the gym working out. So, he deserves to have moments like this. I'm going to give it to somebody that I trust. That I know has put in the work, and we'll live with the result. Make or miss."
How the game reached its conclusion was unfathomable. In the final two minutes, the two teams exchanged the lead four times and tied it twice. With 54 seconds remaining, Middleton drove into the lane and kicked the ball out to open Bryson Ogletree, who netted his third 3-pointer of the game to give the Aggies a 78-77 lead.
UMES did not respond immediately as Zion Obanla's running hook shot rimmed out with 36.4 seconds to play. As UMES's Trey Brown Zamoku Weluche-Ume fought for the rebound, the ball went out of bounds. Officials awarded the Aggies the basketball, prompting UMES to challenge the call. It was the first of a series of video reviews that would shape the game's final seconds.
A video review led officials to overturn their initial call, giving the Hawks the ball. They took advantage of it as Michael Teal went one-on-one, getting into the lane to score on a floater to give the Hawks a 79-78 lead with 21.6 seconds remaining on the clock. It appeared the Hawks would get the ball back on a turnover with 7.9 seconds remaining as Cooper stepped in front of a Middleton pass to Ogletree, appearing to deflect the ball off Ogletree and out of bounds.
The initial call was out of bounds off Ogletree. However, after a lengthy review, officials once again overturned their initial call, giving A&T the ball. That led Walker to pull up for a baseline jumper that went long. As Weluche-Ume went for the rebound, officials determined Cooper undercut his efforts, calling Cooper for the foul and sending Weluche-Ume to the free throw line with 2.1 seconds to play.
Weluche-Ume made one of two free throws to tie the game at 79. Then the unthinkable happened. Obanla threw the ball away on the inbounds play, giving the Aggies a chance to win the game. After an A&T timeout, Middleton attempted to inbound the basketball near the A&T basket as the 6-3 Cooper and the 6-6 Walker grappled for positioning.
Walker easily won that battle. As he tried to move toward the basketball, Cooper went flying in the other direction, leaving Walker open for his game-winning buzzer-beater. After Walker knocked down the game-winner, the only thing left to determine was whether it was a two or a three. After another review, officials ruled it a three.
"I saw a little defender on me. I work out every day on, you know, those types of situations, those types of shots," said Walker. "I knew that once I got out, I was going to create space on him and hit the shot. Whether it was a two or a three, I knew I was going to hit it."
Saturday marked the fifth straight game the Aggies found themselves trailing by double figures. UMES hit a buzzer-beater of its own to end the first half to take a 37-33 halftime lead. The Hawks then opened the second half on a 10-0 run to complete what was ultimately an 18-0 run to give the Hawks a 47-33 lead over the first 2 ½ minutes of the second half. Over the next seven minutes, A&T methodically got back into the ballgame, eventually tying the game at 58-58 on a Middleton layup. A&T's run set up the game's exciting finish.
The Aggies will return to action to face Division I Gate City rival UNC Greensboro at Greensboro's First Horizon Coliseum.
"We are a work in progress for sure," said Ross. "I like a lot of aspects about this team. I like their toughness. I like the grittiness. I like how we try to find a way every night. Where are we right now? We're still trying to get there. They tell me the quickest way to Mount Olympus is to make sure every step you take is toward Mount Olympus. We're trying to take every step, take one little step every day to make sure that we're getting better."
