PEROIA, Ill. – A slow start in the first half made North Carolina A&T's comeback difficult in the second half as the Aggies men's basketball team faced a tough 58-50 loss to Bradley, Sunday evening at Carver Arena in the first round of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic.
"We struggled to score but I thought that we hung in there," head coach Cy Alexander said. "We just have to keep improving. We've won the second half in our last two games but what has hurt us is the slow starts."
The Aggies (1-3 overall) were led by sophomore Khary Doby who finished with a game-high 12 points off the bench in A&T's first-ever meeting with the Braves (1-2). Junior Bruce Beckford led the Aggies defensively and added a game-high 11 rebounds.
A&T had a tough time protecting the ball in the first half and tallied 13 turnovers, resulting in 16 points for Bradley. The Braves took their largest lead of the half 33-16, with under three minutes remaining. The Aggies cut the lead with a 3-pointer from junior Ahmad Abdullah, paired with a jumper from Beckford to send A&T to the locker room with a 33-21 halftime deficit.
The Aggies found a way to come together in the second half as they halted Bradley's offense. A jumper by Doby from Beckford allowed it to slice the lead to single digits, 40-32, at the 11:14 mark. But a 9-0 Bradley run extended the lead to 49-32 with 6:32 remaining.
A&T responded with its own 8-0 rally started by a pair of Beckford free throws and topped off with a three by Doby on a fast-break pass from freshman Austin Williams to slice BU's lead to 49-40 with 5:17 remaining. The Braves scored five quick points to push the lead back up to double-figures, but Doby answered for A&T with a layup that made it 52-44 with less than four minutes to play.
“I tried to come out and be aggressive since I wasn't in the last few games,” Doby explained. “I felt good in our pregame shoot around and I felt like my shot was going to fall. We just couldn't cut the lead down after I hit some shots. I think a game like this will help my confidence. We just have to keep rolling and stay together.”
In the second half the Aggies outscored the Braves 29-25, registered more points in the paint 12-6, and points off turnovers 8-3.
Omari Greer finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists for the Braves while Warren Jones and Josh Cunningham each added nine points.
A&T will visit Saint Louis on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. for the second round of the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic.
