UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Matt Scott found Marvin Prochet underneath to lead Niagara to a 73-72 win over North Carolina A&T in the Springfield Bracket of the 2015 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday afternoon.
Senior Bruce Beckford, the Aggies leading scorer and rebounder thus far this season, finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Sam Hunt came off the bench to score 14 points and dish out seven assists. Senior Ahmad Abdullah hit three of his four 3-pointers on the day and had 13.
The loss drops N.C. A&T to 0-5 over the early men's basketball season. But fourth-year head coach Cy Alexander liked the improvement he saw from his team over two games in Uncasville.
“I feel like we're turning the corner,” said Alexander. “This is our best game overall. Guys finally found their rhythm. We shot the ball better, we defended better and we competed hard against a team that would probably be a mid-level to an upper-level MEAC team if they were in our league. We're going to be fine.”
In Alexander's eyes, win No. 1 should have come on Sunday, but there were some things that went against N.C. A&T that he had concerns about. The Aggies led 70-64 with 2 ½ minutes remaining thanks to a Hunt 3-pointer. A steal and a dunk by Ede Egharevba maintained the Aggies six-point lead at 72-66 with 35 seconds to play.
Emile Blackman cut the Aggies lead to four on the Purple Eagles next possession. Out of a timeout, the Purple Eagles (2-3) applied pressure which forced a five-second call against the Aggies that Alexander felt was called a second-and-half too early with 17 seconds remaining. Justin Satchell took advantage by scoring on a layup as he was fouled by Aggies center Steven Burrough with 12 seconds to play. Satchell converted the free throw to move the Purple Eagles to within one at 72-71.
On the Aggies next inbound attempt, they got the ball in, but the referee ruled that Hunt stepped out of bounds as he was trying to bring the ball up the floor. It set up Prochet's game-winning heroics.
“I'm so proud of my team,” said Alexander. “I have some serious questions about what led to those two turnovers in the last minute of the game. I will have to look at the film to see if Hunt stepped out, but I don't think he did. Both of those turnovers led to points for them which is upsetting.”
Blackman led the Purple Eagles with 18 points and eight rebounds. Scott had 11 points and seven assists. The game started as if it was going to be a continuation of the Aggies early-season struggles. The Purple Eagles led 28-14 with 8:51 remaining in the first half. But a Beckford 3-pointer got the Purple Eagles lead under double figures at 31-23 with 5:54 to play in the first half. A minute later another Beckford three cut the lead to 33-28.
After a Scott layup gave Niagara a seven-point advantage, the Aggies ended the half on an 8-2 run fueled by two Abdullah layups and a Hunt 3-pointer to go into the locker room down just one, 37-36.
“Ahmad and Sam play well together,” said Alexander. “We were very effective with them on the floor at the same time.”
The Aggies will head to Blacksburg, Va., on Tuesday, Nov. 24 to face Virginia Tech in a 7 p.m., non-conference contest.
