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NORFOLK, Va. — Dwane Joshua scored 25 points and Tavarus Alston scored 21 to help North Carolina A&T squeak out a 93-84 overtime win over Norfolk State on Saturday evening at Echols Hall in the MEAC opener for both teams.
Kyle O'Quinn (Jamaica, N.Y.) had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Spartans (1-7, 0-1 MEAC), who lost their sixth in a row.
NSU led by 10 points at the midway mark of the second half. But the Aggies (4-5, 1-0) clawed back behind some timely buckets from Alston and Joshua and some sub-par free-throw shooting from the Spartans to force OT. Once in the extra stanza, A&& shot 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from the floor while holding the Spartans to 20 percent (2-of-10) shooting.
It was a battle of long-range shooting in the first half, with NSU getting the upper hand early. The Spartans, who hadn’t made more than seven 3-pointers in a game this season, canned seven treys in the first half alone. Rob Hampton (Queens, N.Y.) hit three of those en route to 16 first-half points, and Michael Deloach (Rocky Mount, N.C.) dished out seven of his career-high 10 assists to help NSU claim a 41-37 lead going into the break. A&T managed six 3-pointers, but shot just 35.5 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
The third triple of the night by James Williams (Miramar, Fla.) and a long two-pointer by O’Quinn gave the Spartans their largest lead of the night at 65-55 with 9:55 left. But the Aggies crept back into it and finally forged a tie at 73-all on a jumper by Alston with 2:53 left. Tim Zephyr (Bronx, N.Y.) hit two foul shots at the other end to give NSU a 75-73 lead, but Alston again tied it with a jumper with 2:15 remaining.
The Aggies took their first lead of the second half on a layup by Joshua with 1:14 remaining, but O’Quinn tied it at 77-all by sticking back Deloach’s missed jumper with 49 seconds left.
Alston missed a shot at the other end, and the Spartans had a chance to win it in regulation. But Brandon Wheeless (Stone Mountain, Ga.) missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 10 seconds left. O’Quinn rebounded the miss and NSU called timeout with seven seconds left. But the Spartans could not get off another shot in the final seconds of regulation.
Robert Johnson hit a pair of jump shots on A&T’s first two possessions of the extra session to give the Aggies the lead for good. O’Quinn hit his third and final 3-pointer of the night to bring NSU within 81-80, but that would be as close as the Spartans could get. A&T scored the next six points, on a 3-pointer by Alston and a three-point play by Joshua, to take a commanding 87-80 advantage with 2:03 left.
The Spartans missed their next six shots after O’Quinn’s trey.
Nic Simpson added 17 points, Johnson 12 and James Porter had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Aggies, who committed just nine turnovers.
O’Quinn was 10-of-16 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range en route to his career high of 25 points. His 12 boards tied a career high and gave him his second double-double of the year.
Deloach scored 20 points to go with his 10 assists and five rebounds. Hampton added 18 points, his seventh straight game in double figures, and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds of his own as the Spartans outrebounded A&T 51-46.
Williams scored a season-high nine points on three 3-pointers. Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Bronx, N.Y.) grabbed a season-high seven rebounds for NSU.
NSU has 10 days off for first-semester exams before playing at Jacksonville State on Dec. 15.