GREENSBORO, NC—Junior guard Brandon Riley poured in a game-high 27 points, while senior Tyvon Williams recorded his first double-double with 16 points and 10 assists but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs dropped a tough 84-74 in overtime to N.C. A&T Saturday at Corbett Sports Center
South Carolina State falls to 5-13 overall, 1-4 in the league, while North Carolina A&T improves to 9-10 overall, 4-2 in the MEAC.
The Aggies was led by senior center Thomas Coleman who finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks. Nic Simpson chipped 18 and Adrian Powell added 16 in the win.
“We played tremendous game for 40 minutes,” stated SC State head coach Tim Carter. “After that we ran into a little foul trouble on the block in overtime that really hurt us down the stretch.”
The Aggie jumped out to a six point lead early on, 29-23 off a 3-pointer by Marc Hill at the 9:19 mark in the first-half. Brandon Riley nailed a 3-pointer to pull SC State within two, 30-28 with 6:29 left in the half. Senior guard/forward Darnell Porter tossed in a 3-pointer and hit a free-throw to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the half, 39-37 with 1:02 left.
Porter closed out the first-half on a dunk to give SC State a 41-39 lead at halftime.
SC State's Brandon Riley led all scorers at halftime with 18 points. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Aggies 24-16 and also hot 47.1% (8-17) from 3-point range. Riley was 4 of 6 from behind the arch.
Carter stated “I thought we did a great job in the first-half of shutting down their perimeter play. They have some very talented guards and we did well defending them.”
SC State controlled most of the second-half jumping out to an eight point advantage, 55-47 off a jumper by JUCO transfer forward Joe Ikhinmwin at the 10:09 mark. A layup by senior guard Tyvon Williams with just under 6:45 left to play in the game gave SC State a 10 point lead, 64-54.
The Aggies sparked a 9-0 run to cut the lead to one, 64-63 off a 3-pointer by Adrian Powell. Porter's 3-pointer with 2:45 left in the game put SC State ahead five, 68-63. N.C. A&T would not be denied and a layup by Marc Hill plus the free-throw put the Aggies ahead three, 71-68 with 0:13 seconds left in regulation.
SC State's Tyvon Williams nailed a long range 3-pointer as time expired to force the game into overtime 71-71. In overtime it was all N.C. A&T building an six point lead, 80-74 off a layup by Adrian Powell with 0:35 seconds left in the game. A dunk by the Aggies Austin Witter would seal the 84-74 victory for N.C. A&T Saturday.
The Bulldogs senior guard Darnell Porter finished with 10, while JUCO transfer Omar Sanders grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and added eight points in the loss.
N.C. A&T shot 58% from the free-throw line (24-37).
“When we lost our post players we just couldn't defend them in the low post,” said Carter.
SC State will return to action on Monday in an exciting doubleheader against Norfolk State University. The women's game will begin at 6p.m., with the men's following immediately. The men's game will be televised live on ESPNU.
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