Powell leads NC A&T past Delaware State 84-78

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Adrian Powell scored 23 points to surpass 1,000 for his career as North Carolina A&T held off Delaware State 84-78 Friday night to advance to its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament final since 1997.

The seventh-seeded Aggies (18-16), who secured their first winning season since finishing 15-13 in 1996-97, will play fifth-seeded Morgan State Saturday.

North Carolina A&T led by 10 with 1:17 to play, but the sixth-seeded Hornets got within 80-78 with 19 seconds left on Marques Oliver’s layup.

However, Oliver, who scored nine points in a 12-4 spurt, missed the ensuing free throw. Powell answered with two foul shots and a layup following Lamont Middleton’s steal.

Middleton added 17 points, Jean Louisme and Jeremy Underwood 12 apiece and Bruce Beckford 10 for the Aggies, who shot 54.9 percent (28 of 51), including 10 of 19 3-pointers.

Tahj Tate scored 19 and Oliver 17 to lead Delaware State (15-18).