Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Jason Wills had 14 points and scored the winning points on a slam dunk with six seconds left to give North Carolina A&T a 72-70 win over Norfolk State on Thursday night at Irvin-Corbett Court in the regular-season finale for both teams.
NSU (15-14, 11-5 MEAC) rallied from a 69-62 deficit with 1:10 left to tie the game at 70-all on a tip-in by forward Brandon Monroe (Raeford, N.C.) with 27 seconds remaining. A&T (15-15, 9-7) called a timeout to set up its last possession, which Wills capped in emphatic fashion.
After Wills gave A&T the lead, NS guard Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) pushed the ball back up for the floor, but missed a difficult 3-pointer in the closing seconds. The Spartans could not get up another shot.
The Spartans finish the regular season tied for second in the MEAC with Hampton (18-11, 11-5), which defeated Howard 71-58 on Thursday. But the Pirates get the second seed in next week's MEAC Tournament in Raleigh, N.C., by virtue of sweeping the season series with NSU, which will be the No. 3 seed.
Despite losing four of their final five games to end the regular season, the Spartans still earned their highest-ever seed in the conference tournament. They will open tournament play on Thursday, March 13 at 6 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday's first-round game between No. 6 Florida A&M and No. 11 Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Wills, who was 8-of-12 from the foul line, hit two free throws with 1:10 left to give N.C. A&T a 69-62 lead. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Tony Murphy (Paterson, N.J.) and then Corey Lyons (Bronx, N.Y.) cut the NSU deficit to one with 44 seconds remaining. Willis hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line at the other end before Monroe tied it with his timely stick-back.
The Aggies led 35-34 at halftime on the strength of 51 percent shooting. NSU missed its first seven shots, but stayed close by forcing 11 turnovers and holding the Aggies to just two offensive rebounds in the first half.
NSU held its last lead of the night at 37-35 after a 3-pointer by Kevin Worsley (Chesapeake, Va.) on the Spartans' first possession of the second half. But the Aggies went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes behind four points each by Willis and Robert Johnson to take a six-point edge, forcing NSU to play catch-up the rest of the half.
The Aggies shot 49 percent from the floor (23-of-47) and outscored NSU 20-10 from the foul line. The Spartans, meanwhile, connected on just 37.5 percent (27-of-72) of their field goals, 24 percent (6-of-25) from 3-point range.
Glenn Nelson led the Aggies with 17 points. Steven Rush added 11 points and Angelo Hernandez had nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Murphy and Deloach had 18 points each for NSU, but combined to shoot just 13-of-41. Lyons added 11 points and Worsley 10, while Monroe grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
