Norfolk, Va. (Mar. 15, 2013) --- Delaware State's furious comeback from a 10-point deficit in the final 1:17 fell short in a 84-78 loss to North Carolina A&T in a MEAC Tournament semifinal contest at the Scope Arena this evening.
Seventh seeded North Carolina A&T will face No. 5 Morgan State in the tournament championship game on Saturday.
The Hornets end their season at 15-18.
Delaware State trailed 76-66 after two NCA&T free throws with 1:17 left to play.
The Hornets rallied to cut the deficit to 80-78 on a lay-up by Marques Oliver with 19 seconds to go. NCA&T's Adrian Powell hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to give the Aggies an 82-78 lead.
Delaware State committed a turnover on its final possession, resulting in a basket by North Carolina A&T in the final seconds.
The Hornets led 5-3 before the Aggies took control. Lamont Middleton started a 17-5 North Carolina A&T run with a three-pointer and Powell ended the spurt with another three to give the Aggies a 20-10 lead with 11:54 left in the first half.
North Carolina A&T opened up its biggest first half lead, 38-24, on a lay-up by DaMetrius Upchurch with 3:37 left in the half.
Delaware State turned up its defensive pressure to nearly wipe out the Aggies' lead by the end of the half. The Hornets forced several turnovers to key a 14-2 run that cut the deficit to two points. DSU trailed 40-38 after A.J. Thomas hit two free throws with five seconds left in the half. Casey Walker and Tyshawn Bell hit three-pointers while the Hornets were 4-for-4 at the free throw line during the rally.
The Aggies gained a bit of the momentum back when Powell hit a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to stretch their lead to 43-38 at intermission.
NCA&T was 17-for-29 from the field (58.6%), including 7-of-11 from three-point territory (63.6%) in the first half.
Delaware State also shot well in the first 20 minutes, hitting 13-of-26 shots from the floor (50.0%), including 7-for-13 from beyond the arc.
North Carolina A&T outscored the Hornets 15-5 to start the second half, and opened up their biggest lead of the game, 58-43, on a three-pointer by Jean Louisme with 14:10 left in the game.
Delaware State chipped away at the Aggie lead over the next eight-and-a-half minutes. The Hornets pulled to within 63-57 on a steal and dunk by Oliver with 5:47 showing on the second half clock.
North Carolina A&T was 10-for-19 from three-point territory in the game (52.6%). The Hornets hit just 2-of-11 three point shots in the second half.
Tahj Tate led four Delaware State players in double figures with 19 points. Marques Oliver added 17 points and Tyshawn Bell 14 for the Hornets.
Powell led the Aggies with a game-high 23 points.
