Seven seniors see their careers end

Box Score
RALEIGH, March 13, 2008 – Delaware State guard Trevor Welcher’s only offensive rebound and only made field goal proved detrimental for the North Carolina A&T basketball team Thursday night in a MEAC Tournament quarterfinal match-up at the RBC Center.

Welcher grabbed the ricochet from a missed Roy Bright 3-pointer and banked in from the baseline to give Delaware State a 64-62 win, advancing the Hornets to the semifinals where they will face No. 1 seed Morgan State 6 p.m., Friday at the RBC. Austin Ewing led the Aggies with 15 points and Jason Wills added 13 points and six rebounds.

“When you think about all the hard work you put in – all the laps you run and all the weights you lift – and then when it came down to the end there was nothing we do about it,’’ said Ewing. “The ball bounced right to him.”

The loss means the Aggies will have to say farewell to seven seniors as the Aggies ended their season 15-16.

The two teams played in their third thrilling game of the season as foes. The ironic twist about Welcher’s shot is that it was Welcher’s 3-pointer on Jan. 21 that tied the game at 61 with 2.7 seconds remaining, but also led to the Hornets bench running on the floor prematurely and being called for a technical foul that led to two Steven Rush free throws to win the game 63-61. A month later the two teams met in Greensboro where Roy Bright hit a clutch shot to lead Delaware State to victory.

On Thursday, Welcher’s shot led to celebration again, only this time the Hornets waited after Robert Johnson’s desperation 3-pointer to win the game went long.

“Everything worked out the way we wanted,’’ said head coach Jerry Eaves. “Other than having to burn some timeouts earlier than I wanted to do, I thought things were going our way. We forced the miss and then the young man kisses in a shot to win the game. That’s the way it goes.”

Before things started going the Aggies way, they trailed 59-53 with five minutes remaining. It’s a tough position to be in when playing Delaware State because the Hornets rarely turn the ball over and they run the shot clock down on nearly every possession.

But the Aggies did rally. With the Aggies down, Johnson tipped in a Rush miss to cut the lead to four. Johnson then made one of two free throws; he followed up a Thomas Coleman miss to cut the Hornets lead to 59-58 with 2:17 remaining.

“I’ve started to be more aggressive and more assertive,’’ said Johnson who did not play much early in the season, but has earned a starting position over the last two games. “I just wanted to come out and play hard.”

Johnson’s strong play was matched by another member of the Aggies future. Freshman Thomas Coleman, who hit two free throws in overtime to beat Florida A&M earlier in the season, hit two key foul shots to put the Aggies ahead 60-59 with 1:13 to play.

Bright gave the Hornets lead back with 55 seconds remaining as he hit a mid-range jumper. Following an Aggies turnover, Hornets guard Kyle White was fouled by Jason Wills. White hit one of two free throws to give the Hornets a 62-60 lead. The Hornets sent Jason Wills to the line as he was bumped in the lane going after a loose ball. Wills, who is a 55.8 percent free throw shooter, hit both free throws to tie the game and set up Welcher’s in-game heroics.

“This was Ali-Frazier,’’ said Eaves. “Each team was trying to deliver the final knockout blow. The ball just didn’t bounce our way tonight.”