Wilson scores 16 off the bench 

Box Score
PRINCESS ANNE, Md., February 14, 2009 – The North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team survived two strong Maryland-Eastern Shore rallies in front of a spirited UMES homecoming crowd to remain in the middle of an exciting Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference race.

Nick Wilson scored 16 points off the Aggies bench, and Thomas Coleman had seven points, nine rebounds and three blocks to lead the Aggies to a 70-59 win over UMES at W.P. Hytche Center Saturday evening. Coleman’s is four blocks shy of breaking the Aggies single-season blocks record, which now stands at 70.

The win puts the Aggies (12-13) in five-way tie with S.C. State, Bethune-Cookman, Coppin State and Norfolk State at 6-5. Morgan State leads the league by three games.

“We are playing in a conference packed with competitive teams,’’ said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. “We have teams all over our heels, and we are tied with a ton of teams for second, so it’s just going to be a wild ride the rest of the way.”

It appeared the Aggies would have an easier time than they did moving into second place.  The Aggies led by as many as 19 in the first half and jogged into the locker room with a 40-27 lead. But the Hawks hit four of their first seven shots of the second half and went to the line six times over the first five minutes of the half to pull to within three at 42-39.

The Aggies were able to push the lead back up to nine over the next five minutes before the Hawks put together another run. UMES forward Neal Pitt, who finished with 20 points and five rebounds, led the comeback attempt.

Pitt scored seven points during a 12-4 Hawks run. The run was capped off by a Josh Bright 3-pointer that cut the Aggies lead to 57-56 with 3:53 remaining. With the UMES crowd cheering the loudest it had all night, Wilson came off a screen, found himself open at the top of the key and knocked down a 3-pointer to quiet the Hawks’ crowd.

“Nick’s shot showed that we are starting to finish games on the road,’’ said Eaves. “We are now 2-for-2 in our last two road games. The last two road games we have on the road is going to go along in determining how we finish in the conference.”

So will the Aggies defense. After Bright’s 3-pointer, the Hawks didn’t score another basket until there were 12 seconds remaining in the game. The Hawks missed five shots over that span, and N.C. A&T did not allow an offensive rebound on any of those shots. The Aggies defense helped them close the game on a 13-3 run.

“We played a tremendous first half,’’ said Eaves. “In the second half, it was their homecoming, so they put on a good show. But we hit some key foul shots down the stretch to pull it out.”

The Aggies return to the parity-laced MEAC Monday night when they face Delaware State on the road at 7. The game will be aired on ESPNU. The Hornets beat the Aggies at Corbett earlier this season.