Greensboro, N.C. - Thomas Coleman scored 21 points and Marc Hill sank six free throws in the final minute as North Carolina A&T beat Morgan State 68-60 Monday night.The victory by the Aggies (15-15, 9-6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) ended a three-year reign by the Bears (15-12, 10-5) as conference regular-season champions, giving Bethune-Cookman the No. 1 tournament seed.
North Carolina A&T led 46-34, in the second half, but after Morgan State cut it to six points, 60-54, Hill missed two free throws for the Aggies. A 3-pointer by the Bears' Aric Brooks made it 60-57 with 1:39 left.
Coleman has A&T cooking
GREENSBORO — Before stepping onto the Corbett Center floor for the last time, Thomas Coleman sat an extra minute at his locker. As the N.C. A&T center paused to reflect, soon the only two people who remained were the senior and the coach who recruited him.
Coleman finally broke the silence. "He said, 'Coach, I remember you sitting at my kitchen table,' " A&T coach Jerry Eaves said, referencing Coleman's recruitment. "We both just kind of looked at each other and laughed."
Aggies Lose Battle For No. 2
GREENSBORO - No matter what problem the North Carolina A&T women's basketball team presented to Morgan State Monday evening, the Bears had the same two solutions throughout. Morgan State frustrated the Aggies with efficiency from the free throw line and 3-point arc. As a result, the Bears won the battle for the No. 2 seed in the MEAC Tournament with a 74-69 win at Corbett Sports Center.
The Bears hit 11 3-pointers and made 23 of 25 free throws. Erin Hawkins led the way with 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting from 3-point range. Brittany Dodson added 15 points on 9-for-10 shooting at the line.
In her final game at Corbett Sports Center, senior Jaleesa Sams finished with 23 points and six rebounds.
"Morgan State did what they're supposed to do, they hit 3-pointers and hit free throws," said N.C. A&T head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. "They executed brilliantly tonight."
The Aggies trailed by as many as 14 in the second half. But a Sams 3-pointer tied the game at 56 with 4:20 remaining. The Bears responded by going on a 9-2 run that included a 6-for-6 stretch at the free throw line and a 3-point shot by Brittany Noel that gave the Bears a 65-58 lead with 1:26 to play.
N.C. A&T got the lead down to three points four times within the last 40 seconds of the game. But the Bears converted 7 of 8 free throws to put the Aggies away.
The Bears (16-12, 10-5) secured the No. 2 seed with the win. The loss for the Aggies (14-13, 9-6) was costly. They slip into a third-place tie with Howard. The two teams split this season, but Howard owns the tiebreaker over the Aggies because its margin of victory was greater. Therefore, the Aggies need a Howard loss to secure the third seed.
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