UNCASVILLE, Conn. – North Carolina A&T is still in search of its first win after an 86-68 loss to Buffalo Saturday night in the first game of the Springfield Bracket of the 2015 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Aggies dropped to 0-4 and will go after their first win Sunday afternoon against Niagara at Mohegan Sun Arena. Four Aggies scored in double figures led by Ede Egharevba, Ahmad Abdullah and Bruce Beckford who each had 12 points. Graduate guard Joshea Singleton added 10 points. The Aggies played without redshirt sophomore guard Sam Hunt.
The Aggies trailed 35-27 at the half, but after a Singleton free throw to open the half, Jarryn Skeet hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bulls a 41-28 lead. The threes put the Aggies in a position where they were fighting back from a double-digit deficit for the remainder of the game. The Bulldogs (2-2) captured their biggest lead of the game at 61-38 on another Skeet 3-pointer.
N.C. A&T did put together a 10-1 run capped off by an Abdullah 3-pointer that cut the Bulls lead to 62-48 with 7:41 to play, but the Aggies were not able to get any closer as the Bulls shot 54.8 percent in the second half. The Bulls were led by five players in double figures including Roddell Wigginton who posted game highs in points (19) and rebounds (11). Skeet connected on six 3-pointers to score 18 points and C.J. Massinburg came off the bench to score 17.
Defensively, the effort was there for the Aggies in the first half. They held the Bulls to 27.3 shooting in the first half. A Jamin Lackey layup put the Aggies ahead 23-16 halfway through the first half. The Bulls, however, scored the next 13 points led by 3-pointers from Massinburg and Skeet to take control of the game.
