Aggies Uses Second Half Rally To Defeat Howard
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Dwane Joseph scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the first half but it was Robert Johnson and Thomas Coleman who spearheaded a second half rally that helped North Carolina A&T get by Howard University, 69-59 in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference men's game at Corbett Sports Arena. The win was the eighth straight for the streaking Aggies (16-13 overall, 9-5 in the MEAC) while the Bison fell to 8-20 overall and 6-8 in the MEAC.
Howard jumped out to an early 13-2 lead as Kyle Riley scored nine of his 11 points. Eugene Myatt and Kandi Mukole combined for 11 points to help the Howard cause. But then the Aggies went to some full-court pressure that resulted in turnovers for easy baskets. A 13-4 run that was led by Joshua closed the gap to 33-32 at the half but more importantly gave North Carolina A&T momentum.
NC A&T set the tone for the second half on the first basket by Johnson that gave it its first lead of the game at 34-33. The Aggies then began to get scoring from Coleman and Tavarus Alston, who tallied five of his seven after intermission.
The Bison rallied to regain the lead at 52-47 on the scoring of Myatt and Kandi Mukole but the Aggies turned up the heat again and parlayed some Howard turnovers into a 16-1 run over a five-minute stretch that proved to be the difference.
Coleman was especially effective on the defensive end with some key blocks on Bison field goal attempts. The Aggies defensive forced 24 Howard turnovers for the game that resulted in 26 of their points.
Myatt, who was coming off a 41-point performance in the win over Coppin State, led the Bison with 15. Riley tallied 11 and Mukole recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Joshua led the Aggies with 18 and six different players scored six or more points as NC A&T's reserves outscored the Bison, 34-12.
NEXT UP: Howard will travel to Norfolk State on Monday to take on the Spartans of Norfolk State at 8 pm while the Aggies will try to extend their win streak to nine when they host Hampton University on Monday at 7:30 pm.