AGGIES BEAT UMES, WIN THIRD STRAIGHT AT HOME

With the win N.C. A&T matches its win total

from the last two seasons combined

GREENSBORO, N.C., January 29, 2005 – By next season, N.C. A&T men's basketball coach Jerry Eaves hopes his team will no longer need a walker.

N.C. A&T got 16 points from Sean Booker and 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting from Jeff Alvis to earn a 74-59 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore on an icy night outside of the Corbett Sports Center.

The win matches the Aggies (4-15, 3-5 MEAC) win total from the last two seasons combined. It also matches the Aggies conference win total of last season.

“Last year we crawled,'' said Eaves. “This year we're pulling up on the furniture trying to walk. By next year we'll be walking. It's all about maturing. Right now, guys want to play, they want to score, they want to improve, they want to get up and down the floor and play good defense.

That's a good thing. But can you come out and do it on a consistent basis? We're still asking ourselves that question.”

The Aggies put together perhaps their best game on paper. They turned the ball over a season-low 11 times, and shot better than 50 percent from the field for the first time in 23 games.

The Aggies took their biggest lead of the game three minutes into the second half as a Jeff Alvis layup gave the Aggies a 43-31 lead.

Thanks to three straight Louis Brookins' baskets, the Hawks scored the next six points to pull within six. The run prompted an Aggies timeout and a change in attitude. The Aggies put together a run in which their next eight field goals came in the paint on a layups and dunks.

When Sean Booker broke the string by hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner, the Aggies had expanded to a 64-47 advantage with 6:40 remaining. N.C. A&T shot 56 percent in the second half.

“We played like a team tonight,'' Booker said. “We go into spells where we play selfish at times, and really don't get the easy looks by making the extra pass. We made the extra pass tonight and it made a difference.”

Corey Brown led the Fighting Hawks with 16 points, but committed 10 turnovers on the night. Teammate Tim Parham added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Aggies will try to make it four straight home wins on Saturday, Feb. 5, when they face Coppin State at 4 p.m. The Eagles won a December match-up against the Aggies, 67-53.

“We shot 46 percent from the free throw line; we shot 15 percent from the 3-point arc. If we ever put it all together, we'll be dangerous. But we're definitely growing, we're definitely improving.”