GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team is starting to learn the lesson of sharing the basketball at the right time of year.
The Aggies recorded 18 assists and turned the ball over only 10 times in a 77-65 win over Florida A&M Saturday night at Corbett Sports Center. Bruce Beckford led the Aggies with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Three more Aggies scored in double figures including Denzel Keyes and James Whitaker who had 12 and 11 points respectively coming off the A&T bench, Junior Ahmad Abdullah finished with 10 points and three assists.
The win came on a day when the Aggies honored its lone senior in Bryan Akinkugbe. The Aggies also celebrated Beckford scoring his 1,000th career point. Both occasions struck head coach Cy Alexander as special. But what really stood out was how his team shared the basketball.
“We've been trying to get them to see all year how to give up a good shot for a great shot,” he said. “When you're being doubled, quickly move the ball from inside, out. Tonight guys were setting good screens to get guys open and passes were on time and they were catching guys in their shooting rhythm.”
After losing their first four games in February, the Aggies have won two straight. In their last two games, the Aggies have dished out 30 assists versus 23 turnovers. Their 18-assist performance is the highest of the season, and two more than they had at Ohio State on Dec. 17.
“A lot of it is confidence,” said Alexander. “It is about believing in yourself and trusting your teammate. There is more than one player on this team. There are 13 guys you have to trust at one point in time on the basketball court.”
That trust was tested at the 11:33 mark of the second half. A Jorge Rosa 3-pointer cut what was once a 13-point second-half lead to six at 46-40. Florida A&M had a chance to get even closer after an Abdullah miss. But Craig Bowman's missed layup turned into an Austin Williams defensive board.
The speedy point guard quickly turned his rebound into a transition opportunity where he found Keyes racing toward the basket for a layup. After a FAMU free throw, Arturs Bremers took a pass from Williams and connected on a three to give the Aggies a 51-41 advantage with 9:27 to play.
A Jerran Foster steal helped the Rattlers cut the lead to eight as Foster found Ruttley for a fast-break layup. But that is as close as the Rattlers would come as Denzel Keyes took a cross-court pass from Akinkugbe and scored on a 3-pointer to take a 54-43 lead with 8:42 to play. Ninety seconds later Keyes hit his second 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 59-47 lead. A&T led by double figures the rest of the way.
“We share the basketball real well and as a result I thought Denzel Keyes, James Whitaker and Arturs Bremers hit some big shots for us,” said Alexander. “Sharing the basketball is how you win tournaments.”
On his senior day at A&T, Akinkugbe finished with seven points and three assists after playing a season-high 33 minutes. Beckford is now the 29th player in school history to reach 1,000 points.
“It's an honor every time I put this jersey on,” said Beckford referring to the A&T jersey he was wearing at the postgame press conference. “To score 1,000 points, it feels good.”
Ruttley led the Rattlers in points with a career-high 28. He had 24 in the Rattlers win over A&T in Tallahassee on Feb. 14.
The Aggies are back in action Monday when they face Bethune-Cookman at Corbett at 7:30 p.m.
“We didn't play very well on the Florida trip,” said Alexander. “Now we have a chance to redeem ourselves by working very hard tomorrow and Monday to get ready for a very tough, gritty Bethune-Cookman team. They're going to come in here feisty and ready to play tough defense by pressuring the basketball. We've got to play with the same poise we played with tonight.”
