Steven Rush came off the bench to score 18 points and lead five players in double figures as North Carolina A&T pulled away to an 81-66 win over Norfolk State University in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament at the RBC Center. The Number 3 seed Aggies (15-16) will play the Number 2 seed Rattlers of Florida A&M in the semifinals on Friday at 8 pm.
North Carolina A&T used its deep bench early and often and maximized its efficiency by using an up tempo. The Number 6 seed Spartans (11-19) were able to stay close early in a seesaw battle and trailed by only two at 39-37 at the half. Tony Murphy of Norfolk State, a second team All-MEAC selection, led all scorers with 13 points while nine different players scored for the Aggies, led by Jason Wills with 10 points.
North Carolina A&T continued to utilize its bench in the second half and it began to pay dividends when Rush, Greg Roberts and Glenn Nelson took turns scoring during a 19-11 run that increased the lead to 10.
Rush hit two long bombs during that stretch that not only increased the lead, but more importantly, created opportunities for teammates.
“I try to run the court and find spots on the court where I can hide and then I shoot quickly,” explained Rush, a first team all-conference pick. “I try to make it as hard as possible for people to find me.”
For the game, the Aggies shot a sizzling 58 percent (11 of 19) from beyond the arc, converted Spartan turnovers into 27 points and held a 36-17 advantage in bench points.
“This is the way we have played all year,” said NC A&T Coach Jerry Eaves. “We rely on transition, running the floor and shooting quickly. Most teams can’t keep up with us.”
Norfolk State eventually wore down and went scoreless for more than five minutes late in the game. The Aggies were able to put the game away at the free throw line, hitting on 16 of 22, including 6-for-6 from Austin Ewing in the last 1:50.
“I don’t think it was a question of fatigue on our part, but a question of quickness,” said Norfolk State Coach Dwight Freeman. “They have smaller, quicker players who get up and down the floor and hit their shots. We don’t have that kind of quickness to keep up with them.”
Murphy led the Spartans with 20 and Calvin Brown and Michael DeLoach contributed 13 and 12, respectively.
Ewing and Wills each finished with 11 and Roberts and Nelson tallied 10 each for the Aggies, who swept Florida A&M during the regular season, 82-78 in Tallahassee, FL on January 15 and 90-82 in Greensboro, NC on February 12.
“Florida A&M is a tremendous team,’’ said Eaves. ?They have athletes all over the floor, they shoot the ball well, they post well...they are truly a complete team. We want to get into the 100’s and they want to get into the 100’s, so it should be a real dog fight.’