December 5, 2006

Release contributed by N.C. A&T Sports Information

Boxscore

GREENSBORO, N.C.—Junior forward Taiwon Grooms (Landover, Md.) led all scorers with 20 points but it was not enough as NCAA Division I North Carolina A&T State University defeated visiting St. Andrews Presbyterian College 92-58 in men’s basketball action Tuesday evening at the Corbett Sports Center.

Senior forward Richard Stone (Williamsburg, Va.) gave the Knights (2-5 Overall) their third and final lead of the night when he came off a screen and caught a junior guard Dwayne Jeffcoat (Fayetteville, N.C.) pass for a three-pointer and at 15-13 SAPC advantage.

Steven Rush answered by sprinting down the court, spotting up and hitting a trey of his own to give the Aggies (3-5) the lead for good. After two missed free throws by the Knights, the Aggies responded with a James Porter layup and another Rush 3-pointer to take a 21-15 lead. Over the next seven minutes, St. Andrews turned the ball over seven time and the Aggies outscored them 16-2 to take a 37-17 lead.

N.C. A&T went 19-for-34 (55.9%) from the field in the first half to extend its lead to 43-24 at the break. The Aggies maintained the momentum out of the locker room and pulled away for the 34-point victory.

Grooms added a team-high six rebounds to his 20 points. Junior forward Marcus Hoke (Charlotte, N.C.) drained 11 points including a trio of shots from beyond the arc. Stone finished with 10 points. Freshmen Justin Brauda (Monroe, N.C.) and Ron Deas (Clayton, N.C.) tallied five and four points, respectively. Hoke and sophomore Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) each pulled down four boards.

The Aggies had four scorers in double digits including a team-high 18 points from Rush. Jason Wills bucketed 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting while Austin Ewing and Trahern Chaplin each chipped in 12 points.

Chaplin’s game-high seven rebounds helped the Aggies to a 43-37 advantage on the boards and Wills dished out a game-high five assists.

St. Andrews will try and bounce back on Wednesday, December 13, when they host non-conference Saint Paul’s College at 7:00 p.m.