GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team doesn't care that it was against a Division III opponent. The Aggies also don't care that they needed two late steals to do it.
After 12 straight losses, the only thing that mattered to the Aggies in their 58-54 win over North Carolina Wesleyan at Corbett Sports Center was the 'W.'
“We were not able to get out of first gear effort-wise,” said A&T head coach Cy Alexander. “I wasn't particularly happy with our effort, but I'm happy we were able to win the game because we needed it. Now we have something to build on.”
Junior Bruce Beckford led A&T with 18 points and seven rebounds. Redshirt freshman James Whitaker had 12 points, while junior Arturs Bremers finished with 11. Sophomore Steven Burrough added seven points and a career-high seven blocks.
The Aggies (2-12) spent one month away from Corbett. In the process, the Aggies had close calls against St. Louis, Mississippi Valley State and Radford. But they were not able to win any of those games. After a 71-57 setback at Kent State on Dec. 19, the Aggies took five days off and did not return to Greensboro until Dec. 26. They had one light day of practice before preparing for the Bishops.
“We were definitely sluggish and played as if we were stuck in mud,” said Alexander. “We were a day late and a dollar short to every rebound and every loose ball.”
The Bishops (6-4) did have an impressive effort. They never trailed by more than nine points and an Adrian Moore 3-pointer tied the game at 50 with 1:48 to play. Seconds later, A&T's freshman point guard slapped the ball away from Adrian Moore and raced to the other end where he was fouled. He made one of two free throws to give A&T the lead again.
On the Bishop's next possession, Beckford stepped in front of Moore's pass for another steal that led to two more Aggies free throws. A&T's lead went to four, 55-51, on two Whitaker free throws with 17 seconds remaining.
“We were on and off today,” said Alexander. “We don't play well consistently throughout the game. We go through the motions. That concerns me.”
Jalen Cannady moved the Bishops to within two, 55-53, as he went backdoor and received a pass from Eric Dortch-Jones. After the two teams traded one made free throw apiece, Bremers went to the line to seal the game for A&T by making two free throws to give the Aggies a four-point advantage with 5.8 seconds remaining.
The win ends A&T's longest losing streak since the 2005-06 season when they lost 13 straight. The Aggies won despite trailing by as many as four points in the first half. A 14-4 run capped by a Williams steal and dunk gave A&T a 25-19 lead with 2:58 remaining in the first half. The Aggies never trailed again and led 27-22 at the half in what was hard-fought victory after a month away from home and wins.
“We have a quick turnaround for what will be a very good University of South Carolina basketball team,” said Alexander. “But we have something to build on. We have that losing monkey off our backs.”
The Aggies will play at South Carolina 7 p.m., Tuesday.
