WILLS SCORES 27 IN LOSS TO LANCERS

Wills scores 27and grabs eight boards to lead Aggies

Box Scores

 FARMVILLE, Va., FEBRUARY 2, 2006 – Jason Wills had another outstanding performance and the Aggies rallied from a 14-point second half to make the game close, but still fell short 83-77 to Longwood on Thursday night at Longwood.

 Jason Wills scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds three nights after scoring 31 points and having nine rebounds against Hampton. But the Lancers used a couple of clutch baskets, and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to earn the victory.

 North Carolina A&T trailed 54-40 early in the second half. But the Aggies were able to pull to within six with seven minutes remaining. Aggies forward Trahern Chaplin hit a three from the corner, and freshman Christopher Faison took a long outlet pass from Chaplin and then dished it off to Greg Roberts for a layup.

 Roberts was fouled on the play and hit the free throw to tie the game at 65 with six minutes remaining.

 The Aggies, however, could never capture the lead. Dana Smith gave the Lancers (6-16) back the lead 17 seconds later, and following an Aggies turnover, Maurice Sumter drove to the basket with an assist from Brandon Giles to put the Lancers up 69-65.

 The Aggies (3-16) could never pull any closer the rest of the way despite having their opportunities. Down 73-68 with 2:37 remaining, Clayton Morgan worked himself inside the lane and scored two feet from the basket to push the lead to seven.

 Wills answered with a 16-foot jump shot. But on Longwood’s ensuing possession Morgan found himself deep within the post once again and scored to keep the Aggies down three possessions with a 77-70 lead with 1:20 remaining in the game. Morgan led the Lances with a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds on 9-for-11 shooting from the field.

 Aggies point guard Leslie Powell kept the Aggies’ hopes alive with a driving layup and made jump shot from the corner to cut the Lancers lead to four, 77-74 with 37 seconds remaining. But the Lancers clinched the win by going 6-for-6 at the line in the last 30 seconds of the game.

 The Aggies are back in action on Monday, February 6 when they face Delaware State at Cal Irvn-Don Corbett Court at Corbett Sports Center at 7:30 p.m.