GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina A&T running backs Marquell Cartwright and Jah-Maine Martin combined to rush for 313 yards and three scores to send Norfolk State to its fourth straight loss, 37-20, on Saturday afternoon at BB&T Stadium.

The Spartans (3-5, 1-4 MEAC) went toe-to-toe with the No. 17-ranked Aggies (7-2, 4-1) for three quarters and trailed just 21-20 after Josh Nardone's 25-yard field goal with 2:21 left in the third. But the Aggies scored the final 16 points to pull away. After Nardone's field goal, Malik Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, his third kick return score of the year. The PAT missed, but A&T led 27-20.

After holding NSU three-and-out, the Aggies drove 52 yards in 14 plays. Noel Ruiz kicked a 42-yard field goal to put A&T ahead 30-20 with 8:46 left in the game.

NSU took its next possession and quickly moved into Aggie territory. Juwan Carter completed passes of 22 yards to Marcus Taylor and 38 to Chuma Awanna to get the Spartans down to the Aggie 22. But Carter's pass into the end zone on the next play was intercepted by Timadre Abram with 7:41 left.

Cartwright's 8-yard TD run with 2:19 left accounted for the final margin.

The first half featured several momentum swings. After the Spartan defense forced a punt on the first possession of the game, Taylor returned an Aggie punt 69 yards for a score. Taylor's first career punt return score was NSU's first since Darius Wilson's 80-yarder against Delaware State in 2014.

A&T answered back with an 11-play, 65-yad drive which Martin capped with an 8-yard TD run, tying the game at 7 with 6:50 left in the first quarter. The teams traded punts, but NSU took a 10-7 lead at the 2:18 mark of the first quarter when Nardone booted his first field goal of the day, from 32 yards out, to cap a seven-play, 47-yard NSU drive.

The teams continued answering each other score-for-score in the second quarter. The Aggies marched 63 yards in six plays following Nardone's field goal, scoring on an 8-yard TD pass from Lamar Raynard to Quinzel Lockhart just seven seconds into the second quarter. The PAT put the Aggies up, 14-10.

This time it was the Spartans' turn to answer. Carter led NSU on a six-play, 62-yard drive. Awanna made a tough one-handed grab of a Carter pass over the middle on their 20-yard TD hookup with 11:51 left in the first half, giving the Spartans the 17-14 advantage.

But two possessions later, the Aggies reclaimed the edge on Cartwright's first TD of the day, a 5-yarder with 4:07 left before halftime. That play punctuated an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive.

NSU drew within 21-20 on Nardone's second field goal of the day with 2:21 left in the third. Carter completed passes of 17 yards to Cameryn Brent, 15 yards to Taylor and 15 more to Awanna on the 16-play march.

But Wilson flipped momentum for the Aggies, and the A&T defense kept NSU at bay the rest of the way thanks in part to a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions, one by Abram and one by Julius Reynolds. The Aggies picked off three NSU passes on the day and did not commit a turnover themselves.

Cartwright ran 21 times for 183 yards and two scores, while Martin ran 10 times for 130 yards and a TD. The Aggies finished with 436 yards of offense, 310 on the ground.

Carter completed 15-of-29 passes for 186 yards with one TD and two interceptions for NSU. Awanna posted a career-high 95 receiving yards on five catches, which matches the most in his career. The TD reception was his second of the season.

Taylor also made five catches, for 42 yards.

The Spartans return home for their next two games, beginning with a 1 p.m. matchup with Howard next Saturday at Dick Price Stadium.