HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – North Carolina A&T had trouble scoring for the second straight game and dropped to 1-2 with a 68-55 loss to Northern Kentucky Wednesday night at the Bank of Kentucky Center.
Junior Bruce Beckford led the Aggies in scoring for the third straight game as he finished with 19 points and five rebounds. Freshman guard Austin Williams came off the bench to finish with a season-high 10 points. The Aggies shot just 41 percent from the floor, while the Norse put together a 49-percent shooting performance.
The Aggies trailed 9-8 with a little more than 13 minutes to play in the first half. Over the next 10 minutes, A&T only scored three points, allowing the Norse to take a 28-11 lead with 3:41 remaining in the first half. Cole Murray's 3-pointer put the Norse up 33-13. A&T junior guard Ahmad Abdullah followed with a three of his own, but the Aggies went into the locker room with only 16 first-half points and trailed 33-16.
Northern Kentucky (1-2) took its biggest lead of the game with 12:58 remaining in the game as Murray hit another three to give the Norse a 47-26 lead. Beckford brought the Aggies as close as 13 when his 3-pointer went through the hoop to cut the Norse's lead to 64-51 with 2:53 to play.
Murray went 7-for-11 from the 3-point arc to lead the Norse with 21 points. Tayler Persons and Jalen Billups added 13 points apiece. The Aggies lost to their second straight Atlantic Sun opponent after losing to S.C. Upstate Monday night at Corbett Sports Center.
The Aggies will return to Greensboro before embarking on a nine-day five-game road trip that will start with the Aggies playing at Bradley on Sunday, Nov. 23.
