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WINSTON-SALEM -- N.C. A&T's trademark pressure defense finally paid off in the second half.

The Aggies scored the first 10 points after intermission to break open a close game and survived a Winston-Salem State run in the final minutes to emerge with a 73-60 win Saturday at Joel Coliseum.

"People are always ready for your press the first 10 minutes," A&T coach Jerry Eaves said. "We know as a team we may give up a layup or two here or there. We're committed and we're going to continue doing it and hopefully our numbers will win."

The Rams had six turnovers in their first eight possessions of the second half and did not score until their 12th time with the ball, as the Aggies extended a five-point halftime lead into a 49-34 edge.

The run was fueled by dunks by Julian McClurkin and Robert Johnson and layups by Tavarus Alston and Ed Jones. Alston, who had a team-high 15 points, also had a jumper in the run and his overall game impressed Rams coach Bobby Collins.

"He did exactly what his coach asked him to do," Collins said of Alston. "He knocked down open shots, he didn't force anything, he broke us down when he needed to and he handled our pressure."

Alston, a product of Smith High School, finished with game highs of six assists and four steals.

But while it looked like the Aggies were going to run away with it early in the second half, the Rams recovered and whittled the deficit to seven as Jamal Durham and Dionate Gibson combined for 18 points during a 26-18 run.

But Durham missed two free throws with 2:30 remaining and McIntoche Alcius missed a breakaway opportunity 20 seconds later to kill WSSU's momentum.

Any last chance to pull out the win ended with 1:29 left when the refs waived off a basket by Alcius and instead called him for a charge.

The victory was the first road win of the season for A&T.

"Golly Moses we have two neutral court victories but that's the first one (on the road)," Eaves said. "If you look at all the teams in the area -- High Point, UNCG, ourselves and Elon -- everyone lost a ton of seniors. It's been a maturation process trying to learn to win on the road. It's very difficult to win with youth and immaturity. It's been very difficult for all of the area schools because we're all going through the same thing."

The first half was a tight contest with both teams looking to push the ball at all times, as the crowd of 8,432 roared its approval. The Aggies were well represented and their fans cheered loudly after a thundering dunk by McClurkin in traffic.

"People have not seen Julian McClurkin," Eaves said. "That dunk, our team had been waiting for that all year. Julian McClurkin is the best athlete in the conference, there's no question about that. When he got that dunk on Durham, who's probably the second- or third-best athlete in the conference, it was kind of shocking because no one had seen it. Julian McClurkin dunks on people in practice like that. That boy is like Dr. J."

McClurkin's jam came in the middle of a 13-6 run near the end of the first half which gave A&T a nine-point lead.

But the Rams scored the final four points of the half, including a 3 by Durham as time expired. A&T led 39-34 at intermission.

Durham led all scorers with 21 points.