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GREENSBORO — Fifty years to the day after four N.C. A&T freshmen refused to give up their seat at a lunch counter, a visiting basketball team displayed similar persistence Monday night.

That would be Morgan State, which won its 14th straight MEAC game by holding off the Aggies 74-65 at the end of A&T's daylong celebration of its role in the civil rights movement. The Bears (16-7, 8-0 MEAC) repelled a second-half comeback bid with critical 3-pointers, and their depth and versatility proved a bit much for the Aggies (7-15, 3-5) to overcome.

"Whenever we got it to three, something always seemed to happen," said A&T coach Jerry Eaves.

In case anybody in this league needed a reminder, the Bears can beat you in a number of ways. Guard Reggie Holmes, who entered the game first in the MEAC and tied for fifth nationally in scoring, authored his ninth game of 25 or more points. He had 26, and they looked easy.

Morgan State, which is outrebounding MEAC foes by an average of 10 per game, owned a 51-33 margin against the Aggies and were led by Kevin Thompson's 20.

"They all try to rebound," Eaves said. "And it's a situation where if you can rebound the ball and outlet it, you have a chance to run against them. But we never really had chances to do that."

When the Aggies cut their deficit to six, Morgan coach Todd Bozeman didn't feel compelled to call time out and draw up anything special even though at least three set plays out of dead balls had produced field goals. This time, Holmes stared down A&T's Dwane Joshua and drilled a dagger of a 3-pointer with 2:20 to play.

"I felt I had enough space," Holmes said. "And when they play tight, I drive."

As the clock ticked inside of one minute left, Holmes drew Joshua close enough to dribble past him and hit a runner before the Aggies' Thomas Coleman, the league's top shot-blocker, could get to the spot.

"He's just a good shooter," Joshua said. "You have to play him closer than you really want to."

Morgan State is far from a one-man operation, however. Dewayne Jackson, a lithe, 6-foot-8 freshman forward, has the look of a future conference player of the year. In one vital sequence, he became a one-man press-breaker and took the ball all the way to the hoop for a layup.

A&T, which trailed by 12 in the first half, made it compelling behind Smith alumnus Tavarus Alston, whose ability to drive out of potential Bear traps was the Aggies' chief offensive weapon. His back-door cut and layup with 14:54 to play got the Aggies to 45-42.

They'd get that close on four more occasions, but they never had possession with a chance to tie in the second half.

"And that would have been a breakthrough," Alston said.

The Aggies fought through foul trouble in the first half and had to be relieved to be down only nine at the break. When A&T backup center James Porter picked up his third foul with 4:57 left in the half, Eaves had to go against his preferences and return Coleman and his two personals to the court.

Coleman's ability to avoid his third helped the Aggies stay close, but close was not enough to knock off the MEAC's top team.

MORGAN STATE (16-7) — D.Smith 1-3 0-1 2, Holmes 9-16 4-5 26, T.Smith 4-9 5-6 16, Thompson 3-10 4-4 10, Ali 1-2 2-4 4, Thomas 0-2 1-2 1, Davis 0-5 3-6 3, Jackson 4-12 0-0 10, Stokes 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 22-59 21-30 74.

N.C. A&T (7-15) — Witter 3-4 0-0 8, Johnson 3-9 0-1 6, Coleman 4-8 3-6 11, Alston 9-17 4-5 23, Joshua 3-10 1-2 9, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Buck 0-1 0-0 0, Hill 1-4 0-0 2, Simpson 1-4 1-2 4, Porter 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-61 9-16 65.

Halftime—Morgan State 37-28.
3-point goals—Morgan State 9-23 (Holmes 4-9, T.Smith 3-4, Jackson 2-5, Thomas 0-1, D.Smith 0-1, Davis 0-3), N.C. A&T 6-21 (Witter 2-3, Joshua 2-6, Simpson 1-3, Alston 1-4, Coleman 0-1, Johnson 0-4).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—Morgan State 51 (Thompson 20), N.C. A&T 33 (Porter 9).
Assists—Morgan State 9 (D.Smith 5), N.C. A&T 13 (Alston, Hill 3).
Total fouls—Morgan State 16, N.C. A&T 21.
A—1,564.