Box Score
LAS VEGAS, Nev., November 28, 2008 – There is a lot to like about the 2008-09 North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team if you are head coach Jerry Eaves.

Eaves likes the way they defend, rebound and finish on the offensive end. For Friday night’s purposes, he also likes the way the Aggies triumphed over Texas Pan-American 67-60 in the Global Sports Classic played at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Arena.

Junior point guard Tavarus Alston led the Aggies with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore forward Thomas Coleman came close to breaking his own single-game blocked shots record with eight against the Broncos. Coleman set the single-game mark with nine blocks last season against Coppin State.

On Friday, Coleman also added eight points and 10 rebounds. Senior Nic Wilson and freshman March Hill came off the bench to score 13 and 10 points respectively. Emmanuel Jones led the Broncos with 27 points and nine rebounds on 10-for-17 shooting. The Aggies improved to 3-3 on the season.

“This could potentially be the best team I’ve coached since I’ve been at A&T,’’ said Eaves, who is in his sixth season as the head of the Aggies program. “We have a lot of growing to do, but I see the kind of potential these young men have each and every game. I thought they really got after it defensively tonight, and we forced them into a lot of quick shots.”

The Broncos shot just 33.8 percent from the floor. In all three of the Aggies victories this season, they have held their opponents to under 36 percent shooting. Coleman and the Aggies established themselves early on the defensive end. Coleman had three blocks within the first 3 ½ minutes of the game, and the Aggies as a team swatted six shots in the first 10 minutes of the game.

“Thomas has long arms and he is an intelligent player,’’ said Eaves. “He knows how to use those long arms to block shots without fouling or blocking (the ball) out of bounds.”

Despite the Aggies strong play on the defensive end, the Broncos stayed close to the Aggies throughout the first half behind the play of Jones who had 13 first-half points. The two teams tied eight times in the first half before the Aggies took a 28-24 halftime lead.

N.C. A&T opened the second half on a 10-0 run fueled by two Alston 3-pointers that gave the Aggies a 38-24 lead 3 ½ minutes into the half. The Aggies lead ballooned to as much as 17 thanks to a Coleman dunk that put the Aggies ahead 50-33 with 8:19 remaining.

But over the next four minutes, the Aggies were able to connect on just one field goal, allowing the Broncos to cut the lead to seven at 53-46. Alston and UTPA’s Nick Weiermiller exchanged 3-pointers to keep the lead at seven with 3:40 remaining. The Aggies were aided by both teams going cold from the floor over the next three minutes. Coleman put the Broncos with a dunk after receiving a bounce pass from Alston with 1:35 remaining to give the Aggies a 58-49 lead.

The Aggies will play Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m., eastern time at the Thomas & Mack Arena. Going into the game, there was something Eaves didn’t like. “We are still making a lot of unnecessary turnovers,’’ said Eaves. “We did receive a lot of contributions from a lot of people tonight. The guys did a tremendous job offensively and defensively on the boards.”