In a rematch of the rebirth of the Aggie-Eagle rivalry, the North Carolina A&T Aggies defeated North Carolina Central 72-67. 

Earlier this season, on Jan. 24, in Corbett Sports Center the Aggies fell to the NCCU Eagles 90-84.

C.J. Wilkerson led the Eagles to victory with a career high 41 points.

In the game on Feb. 21 the Aggies and Eagles battled in front of a sold out Crowd in the McDougald-McLendon Gym in Durham, N.C. This was NCA&T’s first game in the McDougald-McLendon Gym since 1985.

Fans, Aggies and Eagles, watched the two teams battle back and forth as the lead changed hands 19 times over the course of the game; the game was also tied nine times.  

Aggie center, Thomas Coleman led the way for A&T with 21 points and 9 rebounds; Aggie forward Adrian Powell added 13 points.  

Guard Marc Hill added 10 points and guard Austin Witter recorded eight points and five assists in the Aggie victory.

Nick Chasten led the Eagles with 24 points and 8 rebounds.   C.J. Wilkerson added 20 points for the Eagle and Landon Clement ended the game with 17 points.

Both teams got off to a quick offensive start and with 17:19 to go in the first half a jumper by Powell tied the game for the Aggies at 6-6.  

Over the next nine minutes the Eagles pulled away from the Aggies and led A&T 26-18.

Down by eight with 6:46 left to on the clock the Aggies outscored NCCU 11-to- 6 to end the half with a one-point advantage.

The Aggies opened the second half on a 12-6 run pushing their lead to 7 with a 44-37 advantage. They wouldn’t have the lead for long.

The Eagles quickly cut the Aggies lead and a three pointer by C.J. Wilkerson tied the game for the Eagles at 47-47.

With just over 12 minutes left to play the Aggies and Eagles battled back and forth, with the game’s leader changing 11 times.

With 5:48 left on the clock the game was tied at 60-60. Over the next five minutes the Aggies outscored NCCU 12-to-7 to secure a 72-67 victory.

A&T never found themselves down by more than two points in the second half and led by as many as seven in the win over NCCU.

The Aggie bench added 21 points in the Aggie victory, while holding the Eagle bench to just six points on the game.

The Aggies scored 38 points in the paint and was able to hold the Eagles to only 18 points.

The Aggies shot 27-for-50 on the game shooting 54 percent. They held the Eagles to shooting 39.3 percent in the second half and 44.4 percent on the game. Although A&T held NCCU to 42.6 percent shooting  on the game, the Eagles shot 44.4 percent beyond the arc.

The Aggies are now 13-15, 7-6 in the MEAC.  A&T is back in action against the Eagles of Coppin State on Feb. 26 in Corbett Sports Center.

• Lauren Morgan