WINSTON-SALEM — Brian Fisher made two clutch free throws with 5 seconds remaining to propel Winston-Salem State to a 59-57 win over N.C. A&T on Monday night.
Marcus Wells and Paul Davis each scored 12 points to lead the Rams (7-10), who have won four of their past five games. Davis also grabbed 10 rebounds, while Fisher finished with eight points.
Trailing 57-53, the Aggies' Robert Johnson hit a jumper to cut the lead to two with with 7 seconds remaining. But Fisher then stepped to the free throw line and nailed both foul shots to give the Rams a 59-55 advantage. Marc Hill then scored a layup for N.C. A&T as time expired.
Tavarus Alston scored 17 points to lead A&T (6-14), which has lost five of their last six.
The Aggies mounted an early 18-2 run that silenced the crowd of nearly 6,000 fans at Joel Coliseum as A&T jumped ahead by 14 points with 15:45 remaining in the first half. Alston scored 13 of N.C. A&T's first 18 points.
But Winston-Salem State forced 17 more turnovers and held the Aggies to just six points for the final 16 minutes at the first half. Down by 14, Winston-Salem State led 10 at halftime.
Recover is exactly what the Rams did, forcing 17 first-half turnovers. The Aggies had only six more points for the final 16 minutes of the half as Winston-Salem State turned a 14-point deficit into a 10-point halftime advantage.
A&T used a 19-7 offensive outburst over the first 8 minutes of the second half to regain the lead at 43-41.The Aggies held the same two-point advantage with just over 2 minutes. With 1:45 to play, the Rams took a 51-50 lead on a 3-point shot by junior forward Shelton Carter, who had missed all five of his field goals earlier in the game.
A layup by Marcus Wells following an Alston turnover and free throws from Brian Fisher, Wells and Lamar Monger sealed the victory for the Rams.
N.C. A&T (6-14) — Coleman 3-7 3-3 9, Johnson 6-16 1-1 14, Alston 4-7 5-6 17, Simpson 3-10 2-3 10, Witter 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Powell 0-0 0-0 0, Joshua 0-6 2-3 2, Hill 1-1 0-0 2, Porter 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 18-50 14-18 57.
WINSTON-SALEM STATE (7-10) — Carter 1-6 0-0 3, Morris 1-1 0-0 2, Davis 4-9 4-6 12, Wells 3-11 6-7 12, Fisher 2-6 4-5 8, Monger 3-6 1-2 8, Jackson 2-7 1-2 7, Platt 2-5 0-0 4, Hobbs 0-0 2-2 2, Alcius 0-4 1-3 1. Totals 18-55 19-27 59.
Halftime—Winston-Salem State 34-24.
3-point goals—N.C. A&T 7-23 (Alston 4-6, Simpson 2-7, Johnson 1-6, Witter 0-1, Joshua 0-3), Winston-Salem State 4-18 (Jackson 2-5, Monger 1-3, Carter 1-5, Fisher 0-1, Wells 0-4).
Fouled out—Joshua, Smith.
Rebounds—N.C. A&T 39 (Coleman 7), Winston-Salem State 36 (Davis 10).
Assists—N.C. A&T 9 (Alston, Simpson 3), Winston-Salem State 10 (Fisher 3).
Total fouls—N.C. A&T 25, Winston-Salem State 18.
A—5,112.
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