North Carolina A&T beats Norfolk St., 70-64; faces Hampton

Mar 9, 2018, 04:00 am

NORFOLK, Va. -- Femi Olujobi scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds and North Carolina A&T secured its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal appearance in five years, holding off Norfolk State 70-64 in a quarterfinal battle Thursday night.

The No. 4 seed Aggies take on top-seeded Hampton in the first of two semifinal games Friday night.

Norfolk State led by five at intermission, 37-32, and the Spartans extended the lead to nine on a Kyle Williams 3 with 17:15 left. NC A&T rattled off six straight points, half on an Amari Hamilton 3. After Steven Whitley hit two layups back-to-back, the Aggies went on a 12-0 run to take a 53-49 lead they never relinquished.

North Carolina A&T (20-13) led by two after an Alex Long jumper cut it to 63-61 with 2:20 left, but the Spartans managed just a single free throw before Whitley scored on a layup at the buzzer.

The win was the Aggies 10th in the tournament since the 2000 season.

Kameron Langley scored 16 points and Denzel Keyes pulled down 11 rebounds to help power the Aggies. Aaren Edmead added 11 points.

Williams scored 20 points and Whitley added 15 for Norfolk State (14-19).