N.C. Central linebacker Eric Ray intercepted an Herb Miller pass at the NCCU 1-yard line with 14 seconds remaining to secure a 27-22 Eagles win over arch-rival N.C. A&T Saturday night at Aggie Stadium.

The Eagles were aided by two other interceptions on the night ? both of which went for Eagle touchdowns. The win marks the first time the Aggies have lost to N.C. Central in consecutive meetings since the 1987 and 1988 seasons. N.C. Central improved to 4-1 on the season, while the Aggies dropped to 0-4.

“We fought to the very end when it looked like we were going through some adversity,’’ said N.C. Central head coach Mose Rison. “We always seem to make a play with the game on the line. And that’s exactly what happened tonight.”

Down by five, the Aggies took possession of the football with 2:17 remaining in the game. Miller, who shared playing at quarterback with Shelton Morgan Saturday night, completed passes of 14 and 24 yards to Michael Ferguson and Chaz Dawson respectively. Miller’s pass completion to Dawson gave the Aggies a 1st-and-10 at the N.C. Central 16-yard line.

The Aggies inched closer to the goal line with a five-yard completion to Michael Caldwell and a five-yard first down run by Miller. On 2nd-and-goal, Miller looked to his right for the tight end, but Ray sat on the route for the pick at the 1.

“The kid made a great play on it,’’ said N.C. A&T head Lee Fobbs. “We thought we had a good play called. We had our guy open for a moment and he stepped into the passing lane. I keep saying over and over, you have to take care of the ball.”

If the Aggies had of taken care of the ball, they might have been able to end a 19-game losing streak, which now stands at 20. The Aggies led 19-14 going into the fourth quarter, which marked their first fourth-quarter lead since Oct. 8, 2005.

But with 12:30 remaining in the game, Ray’s twin brother Derrick Ray returned a Morgan interception 23 yards for a touchdown and a 21-19 N.C. Central lead. Four minutes later Eagles defensive back Jeffrey Henderson returned overthrown Morgan pass 72 yards for another interception return for a touchdown to give N.C. Central a 27-19 lead after the Aggies blocked Taylor Gray’s extra point attempt.

The Aggies answered with a field goal, one of two from Eric Houston on the night. Houston’s first field goal in the third quarter was the first the Aggies have hit in 68 quarters.

“We did some things we waned to do against them, but when it counted we didn’t get it done,’’ said Fobbs. “We fought hard, we found some things we can build on. We did some things tonight that usually win you ball games. That’s a positive for us.”