Box Score
Three Aggies record double-doubles

GREENSBORO, November 8, 2008 – North Carolina A&T fans got their first chance to see the 2008-09 men’s basketball team compete even though the team was competing against each other.

The Aggies held their annual Blue & Gold intrasquad scrimmage at Corbett Sports Center Saturday morning. What fans saw was the willingness of one team to fight back from a large deficit and the determination of the other Aggie team to handle adversity to win the game as the Blue earned an 82-77 overtime win over the Gold.  

Senior guard Ed Jones led the Blue Aggies with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Junior forward Robert Johnson added 17 points and 13 rebounds, while junior point guard Tavarus Alston finished with 20 points, five assists and four steals.

The Gold Aggies were paced by sophomore center Thomas Coleman who had 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Freshman point guard Marc Hill added 15 points, nine assists and three steals, and Nic Wilson had 18 for the Gold.

“Early on we’re going to be looking for someone to step up and lead, so it may be a struggle for us early’’ said head coach Jerry Eaves, who watched the game from the stands while his assistants shared the duties of coaching both teams. “But once we find that scorer and that leadership, I’m excited about some of the things this team can accomplish.”

The Blue Aggies had no problem scoring the ball through the first 31 minutes of the game. A James Porter put back gave the Blue Aggies a 66-44 lead with 9:07 remaining in the game. But just as the Blue Aggies began to cool off, the Gold Aggies saw their fortunes turn as they began to heat up.

Over the next five minutes of the game, the Blue Aggies went 0-for-9 from the floor and turned the ball over twice, opening the door for their opponents. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Nic Wilson that cut the lead to 66-50 gave every indication the Gold Aggies were ready to make a run.

During the same span the Blue went cold, the Gold Aggies went on an improbable run that saw them go on an 18-0 run in which they were 7-for-12 from the floor during the rally to cut the Blue’s lead to 66-62 with 4:29 remaining in the game.

But it wasn’t until a Dwane Joshua layup with 48 seconds remaining that the Gold Aggies were able to take their first lead since the 12:26 mark of the first half as Joshua’s score gave the Gold Aggies a 72-71 advantage. Two Hill free throws increased the Gold’s lead to 74-71 with eight seconds remaining.

But Jones would not let the come-from-behind win become a reality. He launched a 25-footer at the buzzer with his normal jump shot form and netted the 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. An offensive rebound and put back by Julian McClurkin and a Jones layup gave the Blue Aggies an early four-point overtime lead the Gold Aggies never recovered from. The Aggies will come together again as a unit 7 p.m., Friday, November 14 when they play their season opener against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Corbett Sports Center.