NCAA Tournament: North Carolina A&T Beats Liberty 73-72

Mar 19, 2013; Dayton, OH, USA; North Carolina A

In the first play in game of the NCAA Tournament, the North Carolina A&T Aggies took on the Liberty Flames as the winner would have sole possession of the 16 seed in the Midwest region and take on number one seed Louisville on Thursday night.

For a 16 seed game, this was a good one as both teams played their hearts out and shot the three ball exceptionally well. North Carolina A&T shot 44 percent from three point range and Liberty shot 43.5 percent. One thing that gave North Carolina A&T an advantage over Liberty in this game is that they shot the ball better. When you shoot 52 percent in a game there is no way that you should lose.

For the Aggies, they got a huge lift off the bench from guard Jeremy Underwood who scored 19 points in 28 minutes. He was 6 for 6 from the field and 2 for 2 from the three point line. You can also add the starting backcourt had 30 combined points and 14 rebounds.

The way Liberty caught up in the game was by the hot shooting of guard John Caleb Sanders. Sanders had 21 points and nine rebounds. In the closing moments of the game, Sanders had a chance to tie the game up at 73 but did not pull the trigger for a three instead took a floater in the lane.

Just like North Carolina A&T, Liberty’s starting backcourt of Davon Mitchell and Tavares Speaks gave them 39 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

North Carolina A&T now moves on as they take on the number one overall seed in the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday night. This will be an uphill challenge for the Aggies but if they shoot the three ball like they did tonight then they just might keep the game competitive.

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