BALTIMORE (January 16, 2017) – The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team may have run into one of the strong favorites to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title heading into March. Morgan State grabbed early control of Monday night's game at Hill Field House and never lost its grip in an 82-53 win over the Aggies.
“Give (Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman) credit, he has put together a tough team,” said Aggies coach Jay Joyner. “I'm not sure they are supposed to be 30 points better, but that's on us. The guys weren't ready to play against the level of competition tonight. Until we learn to show up every film session, every practice, every game turned in to what we're supposed to be doing these are the results you're going to get.”
Graduate center Aaron Scales had his first double-figure game in nine outings as he led the Aggies with 14 points. Redshirt sophomore Amari Hamilton added 11 points off the bench.
But the Bears (7-10, 4-0 MEAC) were able to stay atop the MEAC standings with versatile swing men that ran the floor effectively against the Aggies Monday night. Six-foot-seven Kyle Thomas, 6-5 Tiwian Kendley and 6-7 David Syfax had an effective inside-outside game that helped them hold the lead for 37 ½ minutes. N.C. A&T's only lead came on a layup from Scales 20 seconds into the game that gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead. After Scales tied the game at 5 on a free throw, Thomas hit a three from the top of the key to put the Bears up for good. Junior guard Sam Hunt did find Scales down low again to pull the Aggies to within one at 8-7.
Morgan had an emphatic answer as Antonio Gillespie ignited an 11-0 spurt by hitting two 3-pointers during the run. Syfax capped the run with a layup to give the Bears a 19-7, leading Joyner to call a timeout. Morgan State's lead grew to as many as 19 in the first half before the Aggies cut their deficit to a manageable 40-29 game with a minutes remaining in the half before Morgan State took a 42-29 lead into the locker room.
The Aggies (1-17, 0-5 MEAC) kept Morgan's lead between 11-14 points the first eight minutes of the half as the Bears frustrated the Aggies by never letting N.C. A&T sustain a run. Eventually Morgan did break away with an 11-2 run that pushed their lead to 71-47 with six minutes remaining.
Kendley led the Bears with 21 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Thomas came off the bench to score 17 points on three 3-pointers and Syfax finished with 13 off the bench. Alex Ennis finished with 11 rebounds.
N.C. A&T will get a week off from competition before hosting Howard 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 21 at Corbett.
