GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T and Delaware State had trouble hitting shots in the first half of their men's basketball game at Corbett Sports Center on Monday. Delaware State figured it out in the second half but the Aggies never did in a 67-52 loss.
The Aggies (5-16, 2-5 MEAC) shot just 28 percent from the floor, while the Hornets (10-9, 4-1 MEAC) shot 50 percent in the second half and outscored the Aggies 41-29. Junior Ahmad Abdullah led the Aggies with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Khary Doby and junior Bruce Beckford also scored in double figures with 11 and 10 respectively.
“I thought because our shots didn't go in, we quit on defense,” said A&T head coach Cy Alexander. “If we're going to be a factor, we have to play defense and we didn't.”
A&T had a lot going against it in the first half. Bruce Beckford was in foul trouble, it turned the ball over 10 times and despite having 15 offensive rebounds, the Aggies made just 8 of 32 field goals. But when Ahmad Abdullah followed up a Steven Burrough miss with 10 seconds remaining in the first half, the Aggies trailed by just three at the half, 26-23.
“We wanted to make them drivers and not give up 3-point shots,” said Alexander. “In the first half I thought we did that. But we missed too many point-blank shots.”
The presence of Kendall Gray, one of the best shot blocker in the country, played a role in the Aggies in ability to utilize their offensive rebounding, according to Alexander. The third-year Aggie coach said Gray has so much of a reputation of blocking shots, he thought his players rushed some easy put-backs.
A&T's inability to capitalize on their offensive rebounding proved costly over the final 20 minutes of the game. An 11-4 run to open the second half put the Hornets up by double figures at 47-37. The Aggies would get to within seven, 40-33, on an Abdullah 3-pointer with 14:20 to play. But the Aggies went the next five minutes without scoring.
During that time, the Hornets outscored the Aggies 11-0 highlighted by an Amere May dunk and a Tyshawn Bell 3-pointer to give the Hornets a 51-33 lead. The Aggies would trail by as many as 25, 64-39, in the second half.
“We have to have mental toughness, stay together and play defense,” said Alexander. “It seems as if we take two steps forward, we're taking two steps backwards. “The inconsistency of our team from game-to-game is very perplexing.”
May led the Hornets with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists. Gray finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Delaware State was just one in a long line of top tier MEAC teams the Aggies have played over the last three games. The combined conference records of the teams the Aggies have played over the last three games going into the game was 11-1.
Coppin State will come to Greensboro Monday to face the Aggies at 8 p.m., at Corbett.
