Aggies play at home twice in November

Schedule
GREENSBORO, September 26, 2008 – What happens in Vegas in November are North Carolina A&T men’s basketball games. The Aggies play in Las Vegas three times throughout the month of November. The trips to Sin City and two games in front of the demonstratively vocal Dawg Pound at Corbett Sports Center before the Thanksgiving holiday highlight the Aggies’ 2008-09 schedule.

After the Aggies play their Blue & Gold intrasquad scrimmage on Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. in Corbett Sports Center, the Aggies open the season at home against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. The Aggies will then take a trip to Orlando, Fla., to play the University of Central Florida on Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. The Aggies will return home three days later to face Talladega College at 7 p.m., before heading out on west coast road trip.

“Anytime we can play twice in front of our students early in the season before they go home for Thanksgiving, it’s a good thing,’’ said head coach Jerry Eaves, who is heading into his sixth season. “We’re going to need that early confidence boost because as you know, our non-conference schedule is always tough.”

The Aggies tough non-conference schedule goes into full swing when the Aggies travel to Las Vegas to face UNLV on Nov. 22 at 10 p.m., EST. Two days later, the Aggies face the University of California at The Pavilion. On Nov. 28, the Aggies play in Las Vegas again as they begin play in the Global Sports Classic. N.C. A&T begins play in the classic against Texas-Pan American. The next night, the Aggies will either face Coastal Carolina or Western Illinois.

Conference play begins for the Aggies on Dec. 6 when they host Norfolk State at Corbett Sports Center at 6 p.m. The Aggies close out their non-conference schedule against Akron, Tulane, Evansville, SEC Champion Georgia, St. Louis and Tennessee Wesleyan. MEAC Tournament play begins March 10 in Winston-Salem.

“Your non-conference competition is always there to make your team better for January, February and March,’’ said Eaves. “It doesn’t matter the level of competition, the whole idea is to improve and work on certain aspects of the game.”

The Aggies are coming off of a season in which they finished 15-16 overall and 9-7 in the MEAC. The Aggies have finished above .500 in the MEAC for two straight seasons. The last time the Aggies accomplished that feat was during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. N.C. A&T lost some of the pieces that have been vital to the program’s turnaround, including 3-point shooting specialist Steven Rush, point guard Austin Ewing and versatile forward Jason Wills.

But the Aggies do return All-MEAC Rookie team member Thomas Coleman. Coleman, a sophomore out of Louisville, Ky., averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 2007-08. He broke the school’s single-game blocked shots record with nine against Coppin State Jan. 14. The Aggies also return senior Ed Jones. Jones came off the bench last season to average 7.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He also made 20 3-pointers.