GREENSBORO – Coppin State lived up to his reputation Monday night as one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation. The Eagles knocked down 11 treys on their way to an 84-71 win over the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team at Corbett Sports Center.
The Aggies (5-17, 2-6 MEAC) have now lost four out of their last five and their last three at home. It marks the first time since the 2005-06 the Aggies have dropped three straight at Corbett. The Eagles (3-17, 2-5 MEAC) bested the Aggies with not only their 3-point shooting, but they used their quickness on offense to get to the rim and they also used it to force 18 Aggie turnovers.
Junior Bruce Beckford secured his ninth career double-double and his fifth of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Ahmad Abdullah added 12 and Khary Doby finished with 11.
“We did a poor job of guarding the ball and they were just quicker to the ball than we were,” said A&T head coach Cy Alexander. “We didn't make any attempt to alter shots at the basket. We just weren't tough enough.”
For the second straight night an A&T opponent shot better than 50 percent in the second half. The Eagles were 11-for-19 from inside the arc in the second half thanks to dribble penetration. But it was the 3-point shot that was their deadliest weapon.
The Eagles came into the game leading the conference and 10th in the nation in 3-pointers made. Their reputation for shooting the outside shot is well known to A&T. In their previous five games against the Aggies, they had made a combined 63 3-pointers. On Saturday, they went 11-for-26.
“We didn't do the job we needed to do,” said Alexander about guarding Coppin State's perimeter shooters. “It was our plan to guard the 3-point line and be there on the catch. We did it to some degree early and then we fell off.”
In fact, the Aggies were superb early. They made a concentrated effort to get the ball inside to big man Steven Burrough and Beckford. The result was an A&T team that hit eight of its first 11 shots to sprint out to a 28-17 lead at the 9:05 mark of the first half. The Aggies still had their 11-point lead 3 ½ minutes later and then the threes came.
Two Sterling Smith 3-pointers and one by Christian Keese, who hit all three of his attempts during the course of the game, helped the Eagles to pull to within one at halftime, 37-36.
A&T begin to build its advantage again in the second half as a three from Arturs Bremers, two Beckford free throws and a Bryan Akinkugbe free throw gave A&T a 53-47 advantage five minutes into the half. Unfortunately, Coppin State was able to heat up again.
The Eagles put together a 15-2 run that included two fast-break layups and two 3-pointers made in transition to take a 62-55 lead with 10:28 to play. A&T got to within three, 62-59, with 8 ½ minutes to play. But a Smith 3-pointer and a dunk in transition by Dallas Gary was a part of an 11-2 Coppin State run that gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 73-61 with four minutes to play.
Smith led the Eagles with 24 points on 6-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Gary added 18 and Keese finished with 13. Point guard Taariq Cephas had eight assists and no turnovers.
“I just think we've got to get tougher,” said Alexander. “We've got to get mentally and physically tougher. We can't seem to put 40 minutes together on a consistent basis and it is so frustrating. We just aren't making the plays you need to make to win ballgames.”
A&T will venture away from Corbett as they head on the road to face Savannah State, Saturday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.
