MILLSBORO, Del. – In the final event of the 2019 year, North Carolina A&T finished in seventh place after going 2-1 in bracket play Sunday at the 2019 Hawk Classic Invitational hosted by Maryland Eastern Shore at Millsboro Bowling Lanes.

Sunday consisted of bracket play which is a best-of-seven series in baker play. The eighth-ranked Aggies came in as the seventh seed in bracket play on Sunday and lost the first series to No. 20 Youngtown State 4-3.

Youngstown State started with a 197-185 win in the first game. N.C. A&T tied the series at 1-1 after a 212-201 win. They took a 2-1 lead after winning 191-174. N.C. A&T took a 3-1 lead with a 223-183 win before Youngstown won the fifth game by four pins, 192-188 to stay alive. 

The Penguins tied the series at 3-3 with a 184-166 win before completing their rally with a 178-172 victory to advance to the next round.

The loss put the Aggies against No. 15 Delaware State where N.C. A&T won 4-2. Delaware State won the first game 204-187, but the Aggies tied things up with a 235-153 win. The Hornets took a 2-1 lead with a 230-196 win, but the Aggies won the next three, 231-185, 202-198 and 213-180

N.C. A&T avenged their loss to the Penguins after defeating the Hornets. The Penguins took a 1-0 lead with a 216-178 win before the Aggies tied the series with a 194-188 win. The Penguins regained the lead with a 201-183 victory before.

The Aggies took over from there. They won the fourth game 225-177 before closing out the day with a tight 223-220 win and 199-184 victory in the sixth game. N.C. A&T recorded 3,803 total pins Sunday to record 13,552 total pins for the weekend for a 69-game average of 196.4.

N.C. A&T begins the 2020 schedule with the Northeast Classic in Limerick, Pa., from Jan. 17-19.