GREENSBORO - Senior
Robert Johnson had the worst shooting night of his career. But because he followed instructions, he ended up with the biggest shots of the game as the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team defeated Middle Tennessee State 65-56 Monday night at Corbett Sports Center.
Senior Dwane Joshua came off the bench to lead the Aggies with 18 points and eight rebounds. Tavarus Alston added 14 points and four assists, and freshman Austin Witter scored 11 points in 11 minutes of action.
Johnson, who is a career 49 percent shooter, finished the night with just seven points on 3-for-12 shooting. In fact, the Greensboro native didn't have a point entering the 33rd minute of the game. It didn't appear the Aggies would need Johnson's scoring thanks to a tremendous shooting outburst from Witter.
Witter hit back-to-back threes to give the Aggies a 39-32 lead six minutes into the second half. Sophomore Nic Simpson complemented Witter with a three of his own. Senior James Porter and Witter connected on a give-and-go as Witter rolled to the basket for a 44-32 Aggies advantage.
"Witter is a tremendous shooter,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. "That's what he did in high school, so seeing him hit shots is not a surprise to anyone on our team because everyone knows how well he shoots the ball. Tonight, he shot the ball without hesitation. Tonight, he shot it with confidence."
It didn't take long for the Blue Raiders to get back into the game. A 13-2 run in a span of three minutes pulled the Blue Raiders to within one at 46-45 with 8:55 remaining. Two Joshua free throws moved the lead to three before MTSU's James Gallman tried to tie the game with a 3-pointer.
Simpson grabbed the miss and ignited Johnson's offense by tossing a no-look pass to Johnson for a layup. J.T. Sulton moved the Blue Raiders to within three on a layup with 6:39 to play.
Johnson then forced a Blue Raider turnover and was rewarded with a pass from Joshua on the break to give the Aggies a 52-47 with six minutes remaining. Johnson all but iced the 90 seconds later with his only 3-point field goal in seven tries on the night to give the Aggies a 55-47 lead.
"He hit the big one,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. "We want our players to keep shooting the ball. We shot 33 3-pointers tonight and had some great looks. It just didn't go in. But we want to take perimeter shots as fast as we can. Robert did what I want all my players to do. He didn't let his confidence waver. He kept playing and made a big shot."
MTSU never recovered from Johnson's 3-pointer. The Blue Raiders couldn't get the lead under six the rest of the way as the Aggies improved to 3-2 on the season. The Aggies will spend their Thanksgiving Holiday traveling. They will play three games in four days at UTEP (Nov. 25), New Mexico State (Nov. 26) and Lamar (Nov. 28).
The Blue Raiders (2-3) were led by James Washington's 17 points.
