CHARLOTTE – North Carolina A&T had one of its problems reoccur Wednesday and it may have cost the Aggies their first-ever win over Charlotte. The 49ers forced A&T into 11 second-half turnovers on their way to a 77-61 win over A&T at Halton Arena.
The 49ers (10-12) are 10-0 all-time against A&T (6-18) and have won nine out of 10 by double figures. Junior Bruce Beckford led the Aggies with 16 points and five rebounds. Junior Arturs Bremers broke out of his shooting slump by hitting 4-for-6 from 3-point range to finish with 12. Sophomore Steven Burrough went into double figures for the second straight game with 10.
“They pressed us from the moment the second half began, and we didn't handle it well,” said A&T head coach Cy Alexander. “Too many times this season our turnovers have turned into easy baskets for our opponents. I thought we played hard, but we have to handle pressure better or we're going to be constantly playing from behind.”
The Aggies were playing smart and were in the lead most of the first half. A 3-pointer apiece from Bremers and Beckford helped the Aggies take an 18-7 lead over the first 8 ½ minutes of Wednesday's contest. A 12-0 run erased A&T's lead, but Bremers and Beckford both hit a three toward the end of the half to give A&T a 33-31 advantage at halftime.
“I thought we had a chance to be up six or seven, but we didn't take full advantage of some of the mistakes they were making,” said Alexander.
Not taking advantage of those opportunities proved costly in the second half. The 49ers turned their slim deficit into a nice-size lead in a matter of 6 ½ minutes. A&T turned the ball over six times within that span as Charlotte took a 54-42 lead on a Braxton Ogbueze 3-pointer. A&T never really mounted a threat again.
Charlotte was able to score 21 points off 16 Aggie turnovers.
“We have to be discipline in how we run our press offense,” said Alexander. “We constantly work on it every day and we'll continue to do so because it's something we need to improve. We need guys to believe in their ability to handle the ball.”
Ogbueze led the 49ers with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Mike Thorne Jr., and Keyshawn Woods had 12 points apiece.
The Aggies return to conference play on Saturday when they face their fiercest rival in N.C. Central 6 p.m., Saturday at Corbett Sports Center. The Eagles are 9-0 in the MEAC.
