AGGIES CAN'T COOL OFF BISON

Box Score

GREENSBORO, March 1, 2006 – North Carolina A&T ran into a hot Howard team on Wednesday and did not cool the Bison off. The Bison won its fourth straight thanks to a 58-50 win over the Aggies on Senior Night at Cal Irvin-Don Corbett Court at Corbett Sports Center.

 The Aggie men’s basketball team honored local product Michael Hayes and Leslie Powell before the game. But not even the emotion of the ceremony helped the N.C. A&T.  

 Even with the loss, the Aggies are locked into the No. 8 vs. No. 9 MEAC play-in game on Tuesday, which will be played approximately at 9 p.m. The opponent is still unknown, but the there is a good chance the Aggies will see Howard again in the play-in.

 On Wednesday, the Bison used a patience offense and executed well at the end of the shot clock as it shot 53 percent from the field in the second half on only 15 shot attempts.

 Jason Wills led the Aggies with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Walter Booth added 14 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. Aggies starting forward Greg Roberts did not play because of an ankle injury.

 “With the loss of Greg Roberts, we didn’t have the chemistry on the floor,’’ said head coach Jerry Eaves. “We were out of sync. Even though we’ve withstood the injuries we’ve had before, it was tough tonight.”

 Howard, who has won four straight for the first time since 2002, took advantage of Roberts’ absence. The Bison hit six 3-pointers in the first half to build a nine-point halftime lead, 30-21.

 Darryl Hudson’s free throw gave Howard its biggest lead of the night, 38-26 with 14:42 remaining in the game. The Aggies knocked that lead down to four over the next seven minutes of the game. When Booth dropped a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 6:08 mark, the Aggies were down 42-41.

 N.C. A&T could never gain the lead despite its rally. After a Booth steal led to a Powell layup to cut the Bison’s lead back down to one, 45-44 with 3:52 remaining in the game. But Will Gant hit a three as the shot clock expired to put the Bison back up four. Wills followed his own miss on the Aggies next possession to cut the lead to two, 48-46 with 2:55 remaining.

 But an unfortunate accident would lead to a big basket to the Bison. Booth vomited down the court. As he stooped over, Gant popped open from 3-point range and nailed the jump shot to put the Bison ahead 51-46.

 “That’s not Walter Booth’s fault,’’ said Eaves. “We had a chance to win the game in other instances and didn’t get it done.”

 The Aggies never recovered. Gant’s three ignited a 9-0 run that put the Aggies (6-21, 6-11) away. N.C. A&T plays S.C. State on Friday before heading to Raleigh for the MEAC Tournament.