HAMPTON, Va. – As it turns out, the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team can win on the road. The Aggies had lost their last 20 games away from Corbett Sports Center before coming away with a 64-61 win over Hampton at the HU Convocation Center Saturday night.
It was A&T's first road win since winning at Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 11, 2014. Junior Bruce Beckford was the lead road warrior with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Sophomore Khary Doby contributed with 12 points and 10 rebounds as he posted his first career double-double. The Aggies (5-14, 2-3 MEAC) handed Hampton (8-9, 4-1 MEAC) its first conference loss of the season.
“I thought Bruce played an MVP-style game as it relates to the conference,” said N.C. A&T head coach Cy Alexander. “He showed he is a first-team all-conference caliber player.”
Beckford also came away with perhaps the biggest play of the ballgame that helped seal the win. Hampton's Brian Darden hit a 3-pointer with 2:04 remaining in the game to pull Hampton to within one, 60-59. The Aggies then committed a turnover, which looked as if it was going to result in Hampton taking its first lead of the game. But Dwight Meikle missed the open jumper and Doby secured the rebound.
Ke'Ron Brown fouled Beckford seconds later, sending him to the line for a two-shot foul with 39 seconds remaining. Beckford made the first but missed the second. The ricochet was long enough, however, for Beckford to run down his own rebound in the corner. Hampton's second-leading scorer Quinton Chievous fouled Beckford to commit his fifth foul of the game. Beckford netted two free throws to give the Aggies a 63-59 advantage with 36 seconds to play.
“It was big,” Alexander said about the play. “That's type of play you want your leader to make. Those are the type of plays that make you an effective leader.”
Even after Beckford's heroics, Darden was still able to drive to the basket to cut the lead to two. After Darden made his basket, he fouled Doby, sending him to the line for two shots. Doby made one of two to give A&T a 64-61 lead with 22 seconds remaining. The Pirates followed with two missed 3-pointers. On the second three Beckford grabbed the rebound but slipped to the floor with the ball in his hand and was called for a travel. The Pirates had one last shot with 2.6 seconds on the clock, but Reginald Johnson's three attempt came up short.
“This was a breakthrough win for us,” said Alexander. “We told the team this was a breakthrough game. This was an upper echelon MEAC team that came into this game undefeated. I want to commend the young men; they executed the game plan to perfection.”
Hampton came into the game shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range. Therefore, the Aggies employed a matchup zone that kept the Pirates perimeter most of the first half. The Pirates were just 2-for-11 from three in the first half while Beckford started the game 4-for-4 and helped the Aggies take an early 23-14 lead.
Ahmad Abdullah hit a floater in the lane with 13 seconds remaining in the first half to give A&T a 32-25 lead but Johnson launched a 3-pointer just inside half-court at the buzzer to cut A&T's halftime lead to 32-28.
Two Beckford free throws pushed A&T's lead back to nine in the second half, 53-44, with 9:39 to play. But Hampton went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at the 4:38 mark. Abdullah quenched Hampton's fire by driving to the basket and scoring to give the Aggies the lead for good. Abdullah finished with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting.
“He made a great decision on that play when we needed a basket in the worst way,” said Alexander. “Down the stretch we are either trying to go to Beckford, our shooter or Ahmad just needs to make a play. I thought he did a real good job of taking what was given to him.”
Hampton was by Meikle who had 18 points and 12 rebounds. The Aggies will face another MEAC team near the top of the standings in Norfolk State Monday evening at 8 p.m., from Echols Hall. The Spartans also lost its first conference game of the season Saturday after a 4-0 start. What does the Aggies' leader think about it?
“Bruce walked in the locker room when everyone was all excited about our win today and said, 'Monday,'” said Alexander. “It shows he is starting to grow because I was thinking the same thing. We've got to stay grounded, we've got to stay focused and prepare (A&T) over the next 48 hours to compete on Monday.”
