Slow starts are followed by rallies. But those rallies are matched with a small run by the opponent, putting the Aggies in situations where they are fighting an uphill battle for 40 minutes without getting over the hill.

Count Saturday afternoon's game against Howard as another one of those occasions. Howard shot 66.7 percent in the first half, and then held on to defeat the Aggies 82-77 at Corbett Sports.

Calvin Thompson led the Bison with a career-high 33 points. Thompson was 9-for-15 from the floor and 12-for-15 from the free throw line. Tavarus Alston led the Aggies with 19 points and five assists. Nic Simpson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15.

"We've started slow so many times it's starting to become mundane,'' said N.C. A&T head coach Jerry Eaves. "It makes it really, really difficult to win. We have to find a way to insert a decent starting group that can get us off to a decent start. We have to find a group of young players mixed in with veteran players that can play solid basketball at the beginning. Half the time we get ourselves so far behind that we put pressure on ourselves. We're constantly in catch up mode."

The Aggies difficulty in finding the right combination at the beginning is made harder by the fact that senior forward Robert Johnson missed his fourth straight game with a shoulder injury. Eaves said until Johnson returns he is open to a number of ideas, including starting both his point guards in Alston and Marc Hill. He could also start both centers in Thomas Coleman and James Porter.

Over the last four games, Eaves has started the game with a three-guard lineup in Simpson, Alston and Dwane Joshua. It provides him scorers, but Eaves said it isn't his best defensive unit.  Howard's fast start illustrated that. Dadrian Collins hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Bison a 45-29 lead with 3:40 remaining in the first half.

"We did not rotate back,'' said Eaves. "We did not pick up our people in transition. We did not play good solid defense. We gave them opportunities to hit shots and they did. We put ourselves in too much of hole and never got out."

The Bison's lead extended to 17 in the second half before Howard decided to cool off. The Bison missed five straight shots, and the Aggies took advantage. They went on a 10-0 run capped off by a Joshua steal and layup that moved the Aggies to within seven at 55-48. The Aggies fortunes changed on the next play, however. Collins was fouled on a made 3-pointer to set up a 4-point play for the Bison that pushed its lead out to 11 with 12:50 remaining in the game.

The Aggies fought back over the next six minutes. When Alston completed his 3-point play the Aggies found themselves down 68-64 with seven minutes remaining. "Marc Hill came in and gave us energy,'' said Eaves. "I think that got Tavarus going. But over the first 30 minutes, Tavarus didn't play well. When he starts slow, that really hurts us."

After the Aggies run, the Bison used the "can't get over the hill" portion of the Aggie theme. Howard continued to hit big shots, going 4-for-6 over the next four minutes, to keep the Aggies at a distance. After missing twice, Curtis White's third attempt at a layup finally went through the basket to give the Bison a 75-68 with 2:40 to play.

"Our young kids want to do well, but they get down on themselves quickly,'' said Eaves. "Our veterans are not playing well early, so it makes for a double whammy."

Howard improved 4-14 overall and 3-1 in the MEAC. The Aggies dropped to 5-12 overall and 1-3 in the MEAC.  The Aggies will try to get off to a better start Monday when they invite the Hampton Pirates into Corbett Sports Center at 8 p.m.