CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Too bad college basketball games are not played in microcosms. If that were true, it would mean North Carolina A&T men's basketball coach
Jerry Eaves would not have to figure out how to get his team to start fast against schools from major conferences.
The Aggies got off to a torrid second half start, but by that time the hole was dug as the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Aggies 80-59 Monday night at BankUnited Center.
Dwane Joshua led the Aggies with 14 points and three assists. Tavarus Alston added 13. Malcolm Grant led five Hurricanes in double figures with 14. Scott Durand and Dwayne Collins had 13 points apiece.
"We have to hit shots and hit shots early when we're playing this level of competition,'' said Eaves. "We know a Miami is going to score the basketball. They have to be in that mindset all the time because they have to play the North Carolinas and the Dukes in the ACC. We don't have a chance if we don't match that from the start."
The Aggies have gotten off to slow starts against Marshall, Ohio and New Mexico State. But Monday may have been their slowest start of all. In the first 10 minutes, they were 2-for-12 from the floor with six turnovers. The Hurricanes took advantage by jumping out to a 21-5 lead that eventually turned into a 44-22 halftime lead.
As disappointing as the start of the game was for the Aggies, the start of the second half went almost according to the way Eaves drew it up on the dry erase board in the locker room.
The Aggies full-court pressure led to Hurricane turnovers, which led to easy transition baskets for N.C. A&T. Robert Johnson started the Aggies run with a 3-pointer off of a drive and dish from Alston that cut the Hurricanes lead to 48-30 with 16:44 remaining. After a James Dews layup, back-to-back steals by the Aggies led to two Alston layups.
On the latter layup, Alston was fouled and completed a 3-point play to slice the lead to 15 at 50-35 with 15:31 remaining.
Grant ended the Aggies run for a moment with a pull-up jumper. But the Aggies put together a 7-0 run that ended with a Marc Hill 3-pointer that cut the Hurricanes lead to 52-42 with 12:58 remaining.
"If I can get my young men to start games the way they started the second half, we really would have a much better chance against top-level competition,'' said Eaves. "You can't fall behind like that against that level of competition. We have to get it in our minds that we must score the basketball to win because in order to win championships, you must hit shots."
The Aggies stayed within striking distance over the next four minutes until they stopped hitting shots. Down 63-51, the Aggies had four opportunities to cut into the Hurricanes lead. But three missed 3-pointers and a missed layup slowed the Aggies momentum.
The Hurricanes would get hot. They went on a 14-1 run that included three 3-pointers that gave the Hurricanes a commanding 77-52 with 1:58 remaining.
The Aggies will face Tennessee Wednesday night at 7.
