HUNTINGTON, Wva. - This is not high school or AAU basketball. It is the message North Carolina A&T men's basketball coach wanted to get across to his young team after a 79-63 loss to Marshall Sunday afternoon at the Cam Henderson Center.
Eaves hopes the message was emphasized much more during the game.
"Their bench probably wore down my young kids,'' said Eaves. "My young kids couldn't quite handle the intensity of a Division I game on this level. That will come as they get more experience."
Thundering Herd sophomore Shaquille Johnson led Marshall with 22 points and three assists. Marshall senior Tyler Wilkerson added 20 rebounds and freshman Hassan Whiteside, a native of Gastonia, N.C., scored 10 points and had five blocked shots off the bench.
"He really made a huge difference today,'' said Eaves about Whiteside. "He made my young players think about attacking the basket. We really hesitated when he was on the floor. If he's not there, it's a much closer game."
The Aggies were led by Robert Johnson's 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. Thomas Coleman added 10 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double in as many games. Nic Simpson and Tavarus Alston had 12 points apiece.
A Johnson 3-pointer pulled the Aggies to within five, 38-33 at halftime. An offensive rebound and put back by James Porter kept the Aggies close at 52-45 with 13:42 remaining in the game. But Camden Miller started putting some separation between the two teams with a 3-pointer.
Back-to-back 3-point plays by Whitehead put the game away. He grabbed an offensive board in transition, scored and was fouled by Johnson. Whitehead's free throw gave the Herd a 61-48 lead. After another offensive board, he scored and was fouled by Aggie freshman Austin Witter. His 3-point play gave the Herd a comfortable 64-48 lead with 8:57 remaining in the game.
The Herd bench outscored the Aggies' bench 24-13. Guard Darryl Merthie had 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and just one second half turnover.
"When you get a little winded you're not as aggressive on the glass and you start putting your hands on people. That gets them to the free throw line,'' said Eaves. "I also thought they handled our pressure well. We forced just 11 turnovers, which is probably one of the lows during my tenure here at A&T."
The Aggies are in action again Tuesday when they travel to Athens, Ohio to face the Ohio Bobcats at 7 p.m.
