news-record.com

GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T weathered 13 3-pointers by UNC Wilmington and won 84-79 in overtime Tuesday.

"We're just so young," A&T coach Jerry Eaves said. "We have to learn how to finish games. &ellipses;We're going to have to grow with that."

The Aggies (2-3) used their quickness and defense to build a six-point first-half lead, forcing 12 turnovers. But the youth that Eaves lamented reared its head at the break as sophomore DaMetrius Upchurch was called for a technical for dunking during warm-ups.

"That just kills momentum," A&T's Nic Simpson said. "The technical killed us."

That technical, though, also showed Eaves just how resilient his young A&T team can be.

Weathering the technical and an opening 4-0 run, the Aggies built an eventual lead by putting the gloves on Ahmad Grant, who scored 12 points for UNC-W (2-3) in the first half. He remained quiet until the 8-minute mark when he simply took over the game, powering an 8-0 run and giving the Seahawks an eventual lead with 4:24 remaining in the second half. He scored a game-high 30 points.

Down the stretch, Eaves saw something happen. His team grew up.

Rather than falter from losing a lead, Simpson and Thomas Coleman hit big shots to stay even with their in-state rival.

Coleman finished with 18 points and was 12-for-15 at the free-throw line. Simpson finished with 15 points.

"We've got tremendous shooters," Eaves said. "That's what people did not know."

Coleman also had the key block of the game, denying Chad Tomko's drive to the basket as time expired. Tomko hurt the Aggies with 18 points.

The growth continued in overtime as Austin Witter hit two key 3-pointers to solidify an Aggies win. Witter's second three with 1:16 left in overtime gave the Aggies the lead for good at 80-77.

"That's the growth process," Eaves said. "I knew it was going to be a dogfight."

UNC WILMINGTON (2-3)
Morales 2-4 1-2 5, Rendleman 1-7 5-8 7, Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Tomko 7-16 1-2 18, Grant 11-17 1-2 30, Wallace 2-7 0-0 6, Milson 4-5 2-2 11, Felder 0-0 0-0 0, Deloach 0-2 0-0 0, Reybold 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 10-16 79.

N.C. A&T (2-3)
Powell 7-13 0-0 14, Witter 3-7 0-2 9, Coleman 3-5 12-15 18, Hill 4-10 2-2 13, Simpson 5-16 2-5 15, Williams 1-1 0-0 3, Underwood 0-3 1-1 1, Buck 2-2 1-2 5, Upchurch 3-4 0-0 6, Henry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-61 18-27 84.

UNC-Wilmington 27 42 10 — 79
N.C. A&T 33 36 15 — 84

Percentages—UNC Wilmington (FG .467, FT .625), N.C. A&T (FG .459, FT .667).

3-point goals—UNC Wilmington 13-26 (Grant 7-7, Tomko 3-7, Wallace 2-6, Milson 1-2, Deloach 0-1, Rendleman 0-1, Morales 0-2), N.C. A&T 10-31 (Witter 3-5, Hill 3-7, Simpson 3-12, Williams 1-1, Underwood 0-2, Powell 0-4).

Fouled out—Rendleman, Wilson.

Rebounds—UNC Wilmington 39 (Rendleman 10), N.C. A&T 34 (Witter 10).

Team rebounds—UNC Wilmington 3, N.C. A&T 5.

Assists—UNC Wilmington 13 (Milson, Tomko 3), N.C. A&T 15 (Coleman, Hill, Powell 4).

Blocks—UNC Wilmington 1 (Wallace), N.C. A&T 3 (Coleman 2).

Turnovers—UNC Wilmington 18 (Tomko, Grant 4), N.C. A&T 11 (Witter, Simpson, Hill, Upchurch 2).

Steals—UNC Wilmington 4 (Tomko 4), N.C. A&T 8 (Powell 3).

Total fouls—UNC Wilmington 23, N.C. A&T 14.

Technical—Upchurch.

A—1,982. Officials—Jackie Saunders, Garrick Shannon, Alfred Smith.