A&T -96, Depaul - 93 - Final!

[AggieGroove]

Great win for the Aggies! We are for real! On the road again!


Box Score Play-By-Play GameCast Conversation 1 2 T
Aggies (4-2) 48 48 96
Blue Demons (1-2) 45 48 93
Final2:00 PM ET, November 24, 2007
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, IL

North Carolina A&T Aggies
STARTERS MIN FGM-A FTM-A OFF REB AST PF PTS
J. Wills, F 21 1-3 5-8 0 5 1 3 7
E Jones 13 2-4 0-0 2 4 0 2 4
J. Porter, C 10 1-3 0-0 1 2 0 3 2
A. Ewing, G 34 6-10 3-4 0 1 6 1 21
A. Hernandez, G 26 3-5 1-2 3 6 5 4 7
BENCH MIN FGM-A FTM-A OFF REB AST PF PTS
T. Chaplin, G-F 19 2-6 0-2 1 6 3 3 4
S Rush 33 14-24 4-5 1 3 3 0 42
G. Nelson, G 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
T. Alston, G 4 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 2
N Wilson 14 1-3 0-0 0 0 2 3 3
T Coleman 23 2-3 0-1 2 8 0 5 4
TOTALS FGM-A FTM-A OFF REB AST PF PTS
33-62 13-22 10 35 22 24 96
53.2% 59.1%
TEAM REBS: 1
TURNOVERS: 17 (N Wilson 1, G Nelson 1, T Coleman 2, A Ewing 2, S Rush 2, J Porter 2, J Wills 6, A Hernandez 1)
BLOCKED SHOTS: 0
STEALS: 9 (N Wilson 3, T Chaplin 1, T Coleman 2, S Rush 1, A Hernandez 2)
3-PT FGS: 17-33, .515 (N Wilson 1-2, T Chaplin 0-3, A Ewing 6-10, S Rush 10-17, E Jones 0-1)
DePaul Blue Demons
STARTERS MIN FGM-A FTM-A OFF REB AST PF PTS
M Koshwal 25 0-0 1-2 1 4 0 3 1
D Tucker 27 6-15 5-7 2 7 3 2 20
W. Green, C 20 2-6 2-2 0 4 1 1 6
D. Burns, G 37 9-20 11-12 2 6 5 4 32
J. Currie, G 27 6-9 0-3 1 2 6 5 15
BENCH MIN FGM-A FTM-A OFF REB AST PF PTS
K. Clarke, F 23 4-6 2-5 3 6 1 0 11
C. Clinkscales, G 18 1-1 0-0 0 0 3 2 3
W. Walker, G 12 2-4 0-2 2 3 1 0 5
M Bizoukas 9 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0
M Poscic 2 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0
TOTALS FGM-A FTM-A OFF REB AST PF PTS
30-61 21-33 12 33 20 19 93
49.2% 63.6%
TEAM REBS: 1
TURNOVERS: 15 (C Clinkscales 1, J Currie 3, M Koshwal 1, D Tucker 1, K Clarke 1, D Burns 4, W Green 3, M Bizoukas 1)
BLOCKED SHOTS: 1 (K Clarke 1)
STEALS: 7 (W Walker 1, J Currie 1, M Koshwal 1, D Tucker 1, K Clarke 1, D Burns 2)
3-PT FGS: 12-33, .364 (C Clinkscales 1-1, W Walker 1-1, J Currie 3-6, D Tucker 3-11, K Clarke 1-3, D Burns 3-10, W Green 0-1)


Technicals: None
Officials:
Attendance: N/A

[aggielove]

Rush went crazy!!! Shot ~59% from 3!!

[aggierob]

Great win. Coach Eaves have them believing they can compete with and beat anyone. That should be the expectation and all Aggies teams, coaches and fans.

[Aggie One]

Yeeah BABY!!!!!

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) -Steven Rush scored 40 points and Austin Ewing added 21 points as North Carolina A&T erased an early 16-point deficit to upset DePaul 96-93 on Saturday.

Rush set an Allstate Arena record by making 10 3-pointers in the game and the Aggies set the arena team record with 17 3-pointers.

Leading 58-53 with 15:40 left, Rush sparked North Carolina A&T (4-2) by scoring eight straight points. He hit a 3, then made a jumper. Rush then had the DePaul (1-2) fans in shocked when he hit a 3, well beyond the 3-point arc.

Thomas Coleman gave the Aggies a 68-53 lead with a dunk with 13:10 left.

DePaul freshman Dar Tucker's 3-point attempt to tie the game missed as time expired.

Cliff Clinkscales hit a 3 for DePaul to cut the lead to 87-82 with 2:55 left, but Ewing answered with another 3 for the Aggies.

DePaul got within 91-89 on Draelon Burns jumper with 48.3 seconds left but the Aggies came back with three free throws.

Burns finished with 32 points and Tucker added 20 for DePaul.

The Aggies led 48-45 at the half after trailing 34-18 midway through the half. They came back by scoring 16 straight points on five 3-pointers.

Ewing and Rush each hit two 3's during the span. Ewing's second 3 tied the game at 34 with 7:07 left in the half and Rush put the Aggies up 46-41 with 2:01 left. Rush scored 17 points in the half on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.

Burns led DePaul with 20 points in the first half on 5-of-10 shooting.

[Aggie77]

Ok first the good:
- the backcourt combined for 70 points (48 beyond the arc)
- we shot 51% from beyond the arc (lawdy, lawdy, lawdy)
- we shot 53% inside the arc
- had 22 assist vs 17 turnovers
- we out rebounded somebody (thank-you, thank-you, thank-you)
- we held an opponent below 50% shooting

The bad
- the backcourt combined for 70 points (48 beyond the arc)
- I wasn’t there to see this (damn, damn, damn)

The good significantly out weighs bad, good win Aggies, keep on building.

[aahhbigboy]

Great win. If one man hits 10 3's, you have a chance to beat anyone. Can't wait to they play Hampton and Morgan.

[aggie75]

Check out what Depaul fans had to say....


depaul.rivals.com/forum.asp?SID=1143&FID=2125

[Aggie One]

They were a little embarrased wouldn't you agree? HBCUs have always had great guards. We just have some real post players for the first time the late 80's with good team depth , so you can bet the big guys will take us seriously from here on out.

[Gator]

Check out the highlights on WGN.

[Aggie One]

www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/666446,CST-SPT-demon25.article#

Demons lulled into upset against arc rival
Aggies' Rush sinks arena-record 10 3's in 'pick-up game'

November 25, 2007
BY TONI GINNETTI [e-mail]

It felt ''like a pick-up game,'' DePaul senior Draelon Burns admitted, ''with everybody taking wild and crazy shots at the end.''

It was exactly the kind of game North Carolina A&T wanted to play Saturday against DePaul -- and the kind of game A&T senior Steven Rush had been waiting for. The 5-11 senior, who came into the game averaging 12.8 points, exploded for 40 -- including 10 three-pointers -- to help pull off the 96-93 upset of DePaul.

''I've been down and really frustrated about my shooting, but coach [Jerry Eaves] and my teammates kept telling me to keep my confidence up,'' Rush said. ''All I can say was I was in a zone. I had to take advantage of it.''

Rush set a record for Allstate Arena with 10 threes in 17 attempts while the Aggies (4-2) set an arena record with 17 total threes. Rush and 5-11 senior teammate Austin Ewing (21 points) had all but one of the threes, and their electric day of shooting turned around a game that the Blue Demons (1-2) led by 16 in the first 10 minutes.

Just as crazy was DePaul's rally after being down by 15 in the first seven minutes of the second half -- a rally that had life until the final second, when freshman guard Dar Tucker's three-point shot rimmed around and out.

''I thought it was good,'' said Tucker, who started his first game and scored 20 points with seven rebounds. ''But it didn't go in. I won't hang my head about it.''

Scoring wasn't the problem for DePaul this time, with Burns breaking out of a slump and getting past a shoulder sprain to record a career-best 32 points. The problem was defending; Rush at times was finding the net from NBA range despite taller defenders trying to stop him.

DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright and his staff had warned of Rush's ability based on scouting reports. Wainwright was bothered by the defensive breakdowns -- and that the Blue Demons again were lulled into a false sense of early security.

''They had five threes on out-of-bounds plays,'' he said of the Aggies. ''And we had older players making mistakes on assignments. I'm not disappointed with their effort, but a couple decisions in the comeback weren't the best. Several turnovers by some of our veteran players led to baskets.

''And we have to learn to earn baskets. We took 33 threes because [A&T] sagged on us. A lot of times what looks like an open shot isn't.''

DePaul hadn't lost a game in which it scored at least 90 since a 108-94 loss to Oklahoma in 1992.

''The game was still where I wanted it at 31-15 [DePaul's lead with 11 minutes left in the first half],'' said Eaves, a former assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers. ''We continued to play, and they started missing some shots.''

The Demons went scoreless for 4½ minutes while the Aggies went on a 16-0 run. The Aggies led 48-45 at the half and built the lead to 68-53 with 13 minutes left before Tucker, Burns and junior Jabari Currie (15 points, six assists) led the DePaul comeback.

But when Tucker missed an alley-oop attempt with less than three minutes left, Rush answered with a three-pointer for a 90-82 A&T lead.

Burns turned the ball over with 32 seconds left and DePaul trailing 92-89. The miscue led to two Rush free throws.

''It was a pick-up game, a wide-open pick-up game,'' Wainwright said. ''If we had won 96-93, people would have been excited about how we played.''

[AGGIE Til I DIE]

Way to go Aggies! It's great to see the program taking a turn in the right direction. As for DePaul, they just didn't want to give credit where credit is due. They clearly underestimated us...

[Aggie One]

www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-071124depaulgamer,0,1713130.story?coll=chi_tab02_layout

chicagotribune.com

North Carolina A&T 96, DePaul 93
North Carolina A&T 3s sink DePaul
By Shannon Ryan

Tribune staff reporter

10:52 PM CST, November 24, 2007

ROSEMONT, Ill.

It rarely mattered which DePaul player's hand was in Steven Rush's face, his hot hand delivered.

The North Carolina A & T senior hit 10 of 17 three-pointers and scored 40 points Saturday at Allstate Arena to help the Aggies beat the Blue Demons 96-93.

"You tell yourself you're working hard," said DePaul guard Dar Tucker, one of several Blue Demons who shared the assignment of trying to stop Rush. "You're going hard at him, but he's just making everything."

Rush was a deep threat, connecting from beyond NBA range and over players who shadowed him. Listed generously at 5 feet 11 inches, Rush could not be matched by any Blue Demons defender. Rush had been in a "slump," Aggies coach Jerry Eaves said. He broke out of it against DePaul (1-2).

Rush set an Allstate record with his 10 three-pointers, and the Aggies (4-2) set a team record at the arena with 17.

"He got two shots early in transition where he wasn't picked up," DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright said. "You always hold your breath when a guy is in a slump. If you let him get going …all of a sudden it's like taking a piano off his back."

Draelon Burns scored a career-high 32 points, and freshman Tucker contributed 20. Of course, scoring was not the Blue Demons' problem.

"You can talk all you want about offense," Wainwright said. "Bottom line is we didn't defend. And when we did, someone else did a very good job of shooting the ball."

Wainwright said his team worked on shooting last week but did not overlook or underestimate the Aggies.

DePaul led by 16 points, going up 31-15 midway through the first half. North Carolina A & T went on a 24-4 run, connecting on seven three-pointers during that six-minute stretch, and took a 39-34 lead. The Blue Demons nailed some quick three-pointers, making seven early ones. That is not their game, though, and even though the long shots stopped going in, they kept shooting them, going 17 of 33 on threes.

"We got a little three-happy at the end," Burns said. "That's where we really went wrong."

DePaul appeared poised for a comeback after falling behind by 15 points, but it never could keep the Aggies' aces quiet. Rush's sidekick Austin Ewing scored 21 points, connecting on 6 of 10 three-pointers.

"It's one of those games if you ever just got there, we would have been OK," Wainwright said. "We just didn't get there."

Tucker's game-tying attempt at the end of the game bounced off the rim.

"I thought it was good," Tucker said. "Every shot doesn't go in."

It just seemed like it for Rush.

[e-mail]

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

[aggiejazz]

Ya-hoo!!!! Great win.

I wonder how Eaves was feeling in the final two minutes?? He had to be nervous as heck.

[truthseeker]

the meac has gotten some good wins & some good performances so far this yr.... the meac tournament should be a hot ticket.... my a$$ will be there....