AGGIES LOSE IN OVERTIME TO COPPIN STATE

N.C. A&T guards Steven Koger and Sean Booker score a combined 50 points

GREENSBORO, N.C., February 5, 2005 – N.C. A&T went scoreless for the first four minutes of overtime on Saturday and never recover as Coppin State left the Corbett Sports Center with a 79-74 overtime win.

The Aggies, who had connected from 3-point range in regulation, missed three 3-pointers and turned the ball over three times with their first six possessions of overtime. Meanwhile, the Eagles went inside to Darryl Proctor as has been their norm in regulation.

It paid off for the Eagles as Proctor scored four points in 8-0 run that gave the Eagles a 71-63 lead with a minute remaining in overtime. The Aggies were able to get to within three with 27 seconds remaining as Steven Koger hit his career-high seventh 3-pointer to cut the lead to 75-72.

The Eagles free throw shooting, however, was steady enough down the stretch to pull out the victory.

 “There is a profound difference between struggling offensively and dropping the ball when you're in position to score,'' said N.C. A&T men's basketball coach Jerry Eaves. ”We had our opportunities, we were in position to get some easy scores, but when you give the ball away it will cost you.”

Coppin State's duo of Proctor and Nicholas King out-scored the Aggies duo of Koger and Sean Booker by one point.

The Eagles combo finished a combined 51 points as Procter ended the night with 31 points and nine rebounds. King finished with 20. The Koger-Booker duo had 50 points. Koger ended the night with a career-high 27 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Booker had 23.

Booker helped the Aggies force overtime as he rolled to the basket and drew a foul with nine seconds remaining in regulation. Booker hit both free throws, and the Eagles next possession they were not able to get off a shot against a stingy Aggies defense.

“I think we're a well-conditioned team at this point,'' Eaves said. “I have to give the guys credit for that. They were able to scrap and fight at the end to play in the overtime. But like I have said before, we need to put everything together to be the team we need to be.”

The win drops the Aggies to 4-16 overall, 3-6 in the MEAC, while Coppin State remained in a first-place tie atop with Delaware State atop the MEAC as it improved to 9-11 and 9-2.

The Aggies return to Corbett on Monday to face Morgan State at 7:30 p.m.