GREENSBORO – For the third straight season the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team opened its season against Division III Greensboro College and for the third straight season the Aggies are off to a 1-0 start.
A&T junior forward Bruce Beckord secured his fifth career double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds and redshirt freshman James Whitaker and sophomore Trey Brown had sterling debuts to lead the Aggies to a 91-61 win over The Pride. The Aggies have won their season openers over The Pride by an average of 29.3 points.
“It was an opportunity to against someone else to see what we need to work on,” said A&T head coach Cy Alexander about playing his opponent on Friday. “We have a lot to work on.”
Alexander said he reserves the right to compliment his team until after he watches the game film. He was disappointed that The Pride grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, but was pleased to see his youthful team settle down.
“Obviously there was a newness with a lot of these guys,” said Alexander. “There was some nervousness they exhibited. But I thought we composed ourselves and shared the basketball relatively well.”
Those jitters helped The Pride look strong against the Aggies in the first half. The Aggies threatened to pull away from The Pride (0-1) several times in the first half only to see their underdog opponent rally. A layup by redshirt freshman Nick Reese completed a 9-0 run that gave A&T a 23-12 lead with 7:46 remaining in the first half. But five straight Pride points, including a Hamilton Hawkins 3-point play cut the lead to 23-17.
A&T moved its lead back to double figures, 28-17, on two Steven Burrough free throws. GC roared back with an 8-1 run that was capped by David Leaman steal and a Simeon Howard layup that pulled The Pride to within four at 29-25 with 2:10 remaining in the first half. Whitaker came through with five straight points, which included a 3-pointer that was set up by an Ahmad Abdullah steal.
Whitaker's spurt helped the Aggies go into the half with a 34-25 lead.
“Whitaker is a very good athlete,” said Alexander about his first-year guard who scored 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting. “He has gotten a little stronger, and he can put the ball in the basket.”
Whitaker's offense carried over to the second half and was in part responsible for putting The Pride away for good. Whitaker scored the Aggies first seven points of the second half. His layup three minutes into the half gave the Aggies a 41-27 lead. Brown put the Aggies ahead by 20 for the first time in the game when he made three straight free throws to give A&T a 56-36 lead with 11:44 to play.
Brown finished with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting as he made several drives to the basket in the second half to score with ease.
“I was very pleased with Trey Brown's play off the bench,” said Alexander. “I thought he played under control, made good things happened and made some nice passes also.”
A much tougher opponent will come to Corbett on Monday as USC Upstate is scheduled to face the Aggies at 7:30 p.m. Alexander said his team preparation will largely will be mental with film study, a walk thru and a shootaround.
The Pride were led by Howard's 15 points and five rebounds.
