Rush ties school record for threes in a game with eight

Box Score
GREENSBORO, January 29, 2007 – Steven Rush didn’t want to hear about tying a record on Monday night because if he had of broken the record, there was a good chance the Aggies would have earned a victory.

Instead, the North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team lost at home for the first time all season with a 70- 64 loss to Hampton in a game that was televised live by ESPNU. Rush tied a career-high with 28 points. Jason Wills added 12 points and seven rebounds as the Aggies fell to 9-12 overall and 5-4 in the MEAC.

“We didn’t capitalize on the opportunities we had to win the game at the end,’’ said head coach Jerry Eaves. “I thought we ran two outstanding plays at the end, but we weren’t able to execute them to the very end. Things just didn’t go right for us tonight. Sometimes you have those kinds of nights.”

Rush gave the Aggies a five-point lead, 52-47, with a fall away 3-pointer with Hampton’s Adrian Woodard all over him. Rush’s three was his eighth of he game, which tied a school record with 3:59 remaining.

Rashad West answered with a 3-pointer of his own after the Pirates received a second chance opportunity. Jason Wills hit two free throws to give the Aggies a 64-60 lead with 3:08 remaining. The Aggies good fortunes would end there.

West hit two free throws and the Pirates benefited from an Aggies turnover that turned into a Matthew Pilgrim layup that tied the game at 64 with 1:41 to play. Another N.C. A&T turnover gave the Pirates the ball back. A West drive earned him another opportunity at the line that he turned into two successful free throws.

As Austin Ewing tried to dribble past the Pirates pressure, he was fouled by Pilgrim. Ewing, the MEAC’s leader in free throw shooting, surprisingly missed both free throws. Hampton’s Theo Smalling returned the favor by missing two free throws on the Pirates next possession.

Eaves called a timeout to set up a play for Rush. The play appeared to have worked perfectly as Rush came off the screen prepared to break the school record threes in a game. But the ball rattled in and rattled out, landing in the hands of Woodard. Two free throws by Michael Freeman gave the Pirates a four-point advantage with 34 seconds remaining.

Again, it appeared the Aggies had the perfect play in place to slice into Hampton’s lead. But when Wills came on the cut, he didn’t realize how open he was, shuffling his feet for traveling call. Wils’ turnover would clinch the win for the Pirates.  

“Both teams had a great effort tonight,’’ said Eaves. “But we didn’t come in here locked in and ready to play. We were not aggressive at the beginning. We didn’t finish around the basket. We didn’t take care of the ball. All those things come from practice. We just have to get back to practice and correct those things.”

Pilgrim led Hampton with 24 points  on 10-for-15 shooting. Hampton hit four 3-pointers in the first 5 ½ minutes of the game to take an 18-5 lead. That lead grew to 18 on Pilgrim 3-point play, putting the Pirates up 30-12 with 7:24 remaining in the first half. Over the next six minutes, the Aggies trimmed into the Pirates lead. A Rush 3-pointer cut the Pirates lead to 38-30 with 1:20 remaining in the half before Pirates went into the locker room with a 41-30 lead.

The Aggies will travel to Princess Anne, Md., to face Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday afternoon at 2.