North Carolina A&T 50, Arizona State 56

'Tis the season for college basketball letdowns. With the holidays inching closer, teams across the land are about to break for a few days, turning that final get-away contest into an adventure. Arizona State nearly fell victim Thursday afternoon, needing to rally from a 12-point deficit in the second half to defeat spunky North Carolina A&T 56-50 at Wells Fargo Arena.

ASU coach Herb Sendek credited the 5-6 Aggies, picked to finish eighth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll, but he also questioned himself, scheduling a noon tip so the players could get started on a three-day break.

"They have a game, they're all hustling to the airport," Sendek said. "With a disproportionate number of newcomers, these guys haven't been home (in a while), so I know it's just human nature (to look) forward to hustling out of here."

Photos from the game

Aggies fall short in bid for upset

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Rihards Kuksiks scored 15 points, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 2:52 left, and Arizona State rallied to beat N.C. A&T 56-50 on Thursday. Kuksiks' 3 gave the Sun Devils (7-4) a 53-50 advantage, and they held on to come back from a 12-point deficit.

Nic Simpson, who missed three 3s in the final 1:23, scored 17 points and had five assists to lead the Aggies (5-6). A&T led 29-23 at halftime and extended its advantage to 38-26 in the first four minutes of the second half. But Aggies forward Thomas Coleman picked up his third and fourth fouls in a 26-second span and had to go to the bench with 14:55 remaining.

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ASU Sun Devils scorch ASU Hornets in NIT

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Alabama State played an angry team Tuesday night in the first round of the NIT.

Arizona State, which, along with many NCAA basketball gurus, believed it belonged in the NCAA tournament, took out its snub frustrations with a 64-53 victory at Wells Fargo Arena.

Alabama State, playing its first NIT game since 1983, made it easy for Arizona State to set the tone and build a cozy lead by missing its first eight shots of the game and 15 of its first 16.

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ASU Hornets face big test out West

Photo: ASU head coach Lewis Jackson.

ALABAMA STATE AT ARIZONA STATE
When: 10 p.m. today
Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
Records: Alabama State (20-10); Arizona State (19-12)
On the air: TV -- ESPN2; Radio -- WVAS- FM 90.7

Things got very hectic very fast for the Alabama State coaching staff. After learning about 8 p.m. Sunday that they would be heading to Arizona to play Arizona State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, the coaches spent the next several hours making travel arrangements, notifying the players and tracking down game film.

Monday morning, they were keeping track of the players and family members as the team gathered at the airport for the trip. Then there was the plane trip out -- complete with a film-study session while on board. Then it was getting everyone settled at the hotel and preparing for an afternoon practice.

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