Box Score
Aggies place four players in double figures

LAS VEGAS, Nev., November 29, 2008 – In a place like Las Vegas, things don’t always go as planned. Make the North Carolina A&T men’s basketball team the exception.

The Aggies defeated Coastal Carolina 72-60 Saturday afternoon to close out the Global Sports Classic at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Arena. Junior guard Dwane Joshua led the Aggies with 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Tavarus Alston added 13 points, while Robert Johnson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Anthony Breeze led the Chanticleers with 15 points.

Going into the Global Sports Classic, head coach Jerry Eaves felt his Aggies could double down and go from two wins to four by the time N.C. A&T left Vegas. The Aggies are 4-3 on the season by beating the two mid-majors Eaves thought they could beat. They also put a scare into UNLV, and the Aggies will go into their first conference game of the season at home on Saturday against Norfolk State with a little momentum.

In all, the Aggies shined in the City of Lights. “This was a big win over a well-coached team,’’ said Eaves. “I thought we could come away from this tournament with at least two wins and that is what we did. I enjoy coaching this team. This is an easy bunch of guys to coach. You can see us getting better and better each and every game.”

As has been customary for the Aggies this season, they began to pull away from an opponent in the second half. After holding a 23-22 lead at the half, the Aggies gradually began to pull away six minutes into the second half.

The Aggies led 29-27 when Nic Wilson popped open for a 3-pointer to put the Aggies up five. Seconds later, Wilson would hit another three to complete the Aggies short 6-0 run that gave them a 35-27 lead with 13:07 remaining in the game.

N.C. A&T went back-and-forth with the Chanticleers over the next four minutes, keeping their lead between six and nine in the process. The Chanticleers’ Mario Edwards finally broke through with a 3-pointer that put the Chanticleers down four, 41-37, with 9:53 to go. Joshua quickly answered. His three from the corner put the Aggies up by seven 16 seconds later.

“This kind of performance is what we expected from (Joshua) when we brought him in,’’ said Eaves, who saw Joshua shoot 8-for-24 from the floor prior to Saturday’s game. “We were just waiting patiently for the monkey to come off his back.”

Coastal Carolina never got the lead under seven again after the Joshua three. Joshua put the closing touches on the Chanticleers with three minutes remaining when his layup gave the Aggies their biggest lead of the game at 60-49.

The Aggies return to Greensboro after a nine-day West coast visit. The Aggies will take a couple of days off to rest before preparing for the Norfolk State Spartans, who will visit Corbett Sports Center Saturday afternoon at 4.

“They have great guards and they have kids who can light it up,’’ said Eaves about the Spartans. “(Corey) Lyons and (Michael Deloach) are as good as it gets in our league. They will present a huge challenge to us.”