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GREENSBORO — With 10 minutes left Sunday afternoon, an optimist might have predicted a comeback victory for the N.C. A&T Aggies. Only a plugged-in psychic or an immediate family member would have pegged Nic Simpson as the instigator of the 67-62 victory over Coppin State.

Simpson, who missed his first eight field-goal attempts, made his mark with four late steals that fronted relentless Aggie pressure as A&T overcame lethargy to dispatch the Eagles.

"For about 29 minutes, we couldn't hit a layup, a free throw or a jump shot," Aggies coach Jerry Eaves said. "But for the first time, my team did not unravel or stop playing defense. We kept giving ourselves chances."

Nobody displayed that more than Simpson, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Fort Thomas, Ky. When he misfired on a 3-pointer midway through the second half, he was 0-for-8 from the floor and his team trailed 43-37.

A&T (7-14, 3-4 MEAC) was 11-for-39 from the floor in the game and 3-of-10 from the foul line in the second half. Simpson figured any spark might have to come from all-out harassment of anything wearing blue.

"It's a continuous thing," said Simpson, who finished with 12 points. "Everybody can handle the press at the beginning of a game. But maybe they start getting tired. They start getting lazy. And then you have to be there."

Simpson had three of his thefts in the 11-0 run that turned the game around. All three were followed by Aggie field goals. A&T, which hadn't scored on more than two consecutive possessions on the day, connected on five straight trips and went 10-of-11 from the floor starting with Simpson's initial hoop.

The Eagles often found themselves trapped in a corner in the backcourt. If they did avoid the first pitfall, the cumulative effect of the pressure often disrupted their rhythm in the frontcourt.

"It's reality sports," Eaves said. "You have to look yourself in the face, and you have to keep trying."

Simpson's backcourt partner for much of the finishing stretch was 5-8 sophomore Marc Hill, who went 4-for-4 in 16 minutes in place of the struggling Dwane Joshua. Hill's drive through traffic with 1:55 left gave the Aggies a six-point edge and turned out to be their final field goal of the day.

"We had to change the pace of the game so we could get better shots and get out of the slump we were in," Hill said.

The Aggies closed it out by going 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final 30 seconds. Their percentage was substandard, but their chances — 30 of them to Coppin's 10 —proved important.

The game was postponed a day by the snowstorm, which messed with preparation for Coppin and for tonight's opponent, Morgan State. Eaves ordered his team's four off-campus residents to stay away on Saturday rather than fight the elements. The others went through a walk-through.

The team won't discuss Morgan State, the league's best team, until 5 p.m. today, three hours before tipoff. Under NCAA rules, teams cannot practice immediately after a game. (The Bears aren't in a great spot, either. They played at Norfolk State on Sunday and hopped on the bus to Greensboro thereafter.)

The Morgan game will cap an historic day for the university, which will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Woolworth's sit-in this morning.

COPPIN STATE (5-14) — Coleman 1-4 0-0 2, Kucinskas 2-2 0-0 4, Harper 5-10 0-0 14, Goldsberry 1-5 4-6 6, Brown 0-7 1-2 1, Young 3-10 1-2 9, Jackson 1-3 0-0 3, Reggins 2-3 0-0 5, Hayden 1-3 0-0 2, Doughty 8-9 0-0 16. Totals 24-56 6-10 62.

N.C. A&T (7-14) — Witter 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 5-7 4-4 16, Coleman 3-4 2-5 8, Alston 5-12 5-7 17, Joshua 1-11 2-4 4, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 4-4 0-0 9, Simpson 3-12 6-8 13, Porter 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 21-52 19-30 67.

Halftime—Coppin State 32-24.
3-point goals—Coppin State 8-24 (Harper 4-6, Young 2-7, Reggins 1-2, Jackson 1-2, Hayden 0-1, Brown 0-6), N.C. A&T 6-25 (Johnson 2-3, Alston 2-5, Hill 1-1, Simpson 1-8, Witter 0-1, Joshua 0-7).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—Coppin State 35 (Doughty 6), N.C. A&T 37 (Coleman, Johnson, Porter 6).
Assists—Coppin State 16 (Reggins 5), N.C. A&T 8 (Alston 5).
Total fouls—Coppin State 21, N.C. A&T 13.
A—1,014.