Jan. 10, 2004

Box Score

Greensboro, NC - Didier Socka scored six of his eight points in the final four minutes and blocked a potential game tying shot with :03 left to lead Maryland-Eastern Shore (1-8, 1-2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) to a 52-50 victory over N.C. A&T (0-13, 0-4) in men's basketball action at the Corbett Sports Center.

Socka hit a layup to give the Hawks a 44-40 lead with 3:53 remaining in the contest. He then stole the ball from Aggie guard Sean Booker and hit another layup on the offensive end for a six-point margin. Booker hit a three-pointer from the left corner to cut the lead in half, but was called for a traveling violation after a UMES turnover at the 2:54 mark. Tee Trotter then hit a three-pointer at 2:41 for a 49-43 UMES lead.

The Aggies responded by getting two free throws and a basket from Jeff Alvis and a three-pointer from Steve Koger to bring N.C. A&T within one, 51-50, with just 1:04 left. Trotter hit one of two foul shots for a two-point lead. Following a timeout, Brian Faulcon drove the ball to the basket, but Socka rotated and rejected Faulcon's layup attempt. N.C. A&T had one more chance to send the game to overtime, but Alvis could not get an off balance layup to fall at the buzzer.

Foul shooting was the difference in the contest, as the Hawks shot 16-of-20 for the game, including 7-of-10 in the second half. N.C. A&T finished 10-of-16, but made only nine of 13 attempts in the pivotal second half. UMES committed 21 turnovers compared to 13 for N.C. A&T, but won the points off turnovers, 16-10.

"We won ugly tonight," said Head Coach Thomas Trotter. "But its a win, we scrapped, fought hard, got rebounds, and made some big shots. Our guards got back on their way and we got 19 points and 21 boards from our post to go with our backcourt's 36 points. I am happy with the balance,it just needs to be a little higher. I also can't say enough about our defense, we worked hard, got some steals and wanted the game, now we have to keep the streak going," he added.

Trotter scored a game high 21 points, while teammate Aaron Wellington added 10 points. Javes Wiggins had a game high 12 rebounds to go with five points. Jeff Alvis led the Aggies with 16 points and seven rebounds while Steven Koger added 15 points. Sean Booker scored nine points and added five rebounds and two steals.

UMES will try to make it two in a row as they travel to Orangeburg, SC on MOnday for a 7:30 pm tip.

Portions of this story taken from NCAT's website.