WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Monmouth guard Corey Miller crossed halfcourt being dogged by the defense of North Carolina A&T junior point guard Trent Middleton, Jr., and launched a 40-footer that banged off the backboard and went through the basket at the buzzer to give the Monmouth Hawks an 83-81 overtime win over the Aggies Thursday night at OceanFirst Bank Arena.

It was a heart-wrenching loss for an Aggies team coming off two straight impressive wins and an Aggies team that played solidly offensively and stymied the Hawks at times in the second half.

The Aggies dropped to 9-11 overall and 2-7 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) despite Middleton tying a career high with 21 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Redshirt freshman Lewis Walker led the way for A&T with 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting. The Aggies shot 48.3 percent from the field and were 20-for-23 (.870) from the free throw line, but they are 0-6 all-time against the Hawks.

"Before the game, I asked the guys to rumble for 40 minutes. Tonight, they rumbled for 45," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "For me to come in here (the locker room) hooting and hollering and point out mistakes would be disingenuous. I told them I'm so proud of you guys because you do what I ask you to do."

Monmouth took a 77-74 lead with 2 ½ minutes remaining in OT on two Stefanos Spartalis free throws. After A&T sophomore center Will Felton made one of two from the free throw line, the Hawks turned the ball over. That led to Walker hitting a tough step-back jumper from the elbow 15 feet out to tie the game at 77 with 1:15 remaining in OT.

On the ensuing possession, referees called Zamoku Weluche-Ume for a reach-in foul on Jason Rivera-Torres. Rivera-Torres made one of two free throws, leading to Rivera-Torres fouling Walker as he drove to the basket. Lewis made both free throws to give the Aggies a 79-78 lead with 33.1 seconds to play.

After a Monmouth timeout, Rivera-Torress gave the Hawks the lead back by hitting a tough turnaround jumper over Weluche-Ume. Pierce helped the Aggies respond by catching the inbounds pass against Monmouth's pressure defense and racing down the floor before getting fouled by Spartalis with 4.2 seconds remaining. Pierce swished both free throws to give the Aggies an 81-80 lead. Pierce's two clutch free throws earned acknowledgment from Ross.

"I told DP I was proud of him because in the last game (against Towson), when you had a chance at the foul line late in the game, you went 0-for-2. In a high-pressure situation tonight when we're down one, you go to the line and make two and put us in a position to win the game," said Ross.

Unfortunately, Miller followed Pierce's two huge free throws with his game-winning launch.

"If you're in the business long enough, shots like that happen," said Ross. "I thought Trent did a good job of turning him, but the guy just made a hope-it-goes shot off the backboard. That's going to happen sometimes."

Weluche-Ume added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Aggies. It marked his 10th straight game in double figures, and he recorded his sixth double-double in eight games. Rivera-Torres led all scorers with 26 points while adding nine rebounds and five assists to his totals. Monmouth is 11-11 overall and 5-4 in league play.

The Aggies led by as many as eight in the second half when A&T sophomore center Amadou Doumbia followed Pierce's miss to give the Aggies a 50-42 lead with 14 minutes to play. Four minutes later, the Aggies kept their lead at eight, 58-50, on a Will Felton layup. Monmouth outscored A&T 13-4 over the next three minutes to take a 63-62 lead.

After Middelton tied the game at 64-64 with 5 ½ minutes remaining, the two teams went through five lead changes and four ties over the next four minutes, as Spartalis gave the Hawks a 72-70 lead with a minute remaining. Thirty seconds later, Walker tied the game with a layup, leading to overtime.

"We have a resilient group," said Ross. "We'll get some rest tonight. We'll go down to Philadelphia tomorrow and prepare for a very difficult Drexel team, but I would like to think we are forming and developing ourselves into a very decent team."

The Aggies are scheduled to play the Dragons at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.