CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team cut its deficit to one in the final seconds but wasn't able to complete its comeback. The Aggies dropped a 66-63 decision to Mississippi Valley State, Saturday afternoon in the Corpus Christi Coastal Classic at the American Bank Center.
A&T (1-6 overall) found itself playing from behind again as it still tries to find the formula that will turn their close losses to close wins. Despite three players scoring in double figures, the Aggies could not find a way to upend the Delta Devils (1-6) who secured their first win of the season.
“Our execution in the clutch has been very poor,” head coach Cy Alexander said. “We're making critical mistakes at the wrong time. We aren't making free throws in the clutch and it's something we have to correct before we open conference play next Saturday at Howard.”
Junior Bruce Beckford had a stellar performance with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to notch his second double-double of the year. Beckford also pitched in a game-high five assists and three steals.
A&T's bench added 26 points courtesy of freshman James Whitaker who tallied 13 points and sophomore Steven Burrough's 11 points. Burrough played well on the defensive end, contributing eight rebounds and a career-high five blocks.
A&T hung together to start the second half by keeping MVSU scoreless for six minutes as it sliced its double-figure deficit to 51-50 with an 11-1 run with 7:12 remaining. The Delta Devils went up by six with two minutes remaining, but five unanswered points by the Aggies cut MVSU's edge to 62-61 with 26 seconds to play.
A pair of free throws gave the Delta Devils a three point lead, but sophomore Khary Doby responded with a dunk with 13 seconds to play. But MVSU was consistent at the free throw line and connected on both shots to push the lead back to three as the Aggies failed to connect on two 3-pointers in the final seconds.
The Aggies found themselves trailing the Delta Devils 16-9 in the first half. Beckford got A&T going with five straight points along with a layup from Whitaker in transition to tie the game at 16 at the 12:21 mark.
MVSU didn't let A&T's run last long as they sparked its own 15-4 rally to take its largest lead of the half, 31-20 with 6:38 left. A Jerome Simmons jumper got the Aggies within six, 35-29, with 1:53 to play but the Delta Devils carried a 38-29 lead into halftime.
A&T had trouble handling the ball in the first half and MVSU took advantage of that by scoring 16 points off 13 Aggie turnovers. Jordan Washington finished with a game-high 20 points for the Delta Devils, followed by DeAngelo Priar who added 14 points.
A&T continues its road swing on Thursday, Dec. 4 when it visits USC-Upstate for a non-conference game set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
“We're still trying to learn how to win,” explained Alexander. “We have to keep coaching and grinding. We have to stay positive and keep working. Hopefully the tide will turn.
