GREENSBORO (January 21, 2017) – There is a trend going on at the Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center that the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team wants to stop as soon as possible. Two players from the opposing team are getting way too cozy in the Aggies home gym lately. Two weeks ago Maryland Eastern Shore's Ryan Andino (31) and Bakari Copeland (26) went for a combined 57 points in a win over the Aggies at Corbett.
On Saturday evening, Howard's Charles Williams and James Miller combined for 56 points in a 78-63 win over the Aggies inside Corbett. Williams finished with 30 points on 11-for-21 shooting while Miller was 10-for-16 from the floor for 26 points. Graduate center Aaron Scales and redshirt junior Sam Hunt had 10 apiece while redshirt sophomore Amari Hamilton came off the bench to lead the Aggies with 12.
“I thought we had an energetic crowd tonight that was ready to give us a boost but for some reason our guys didn't match that energy and take advantage of the atmosphere,” said N.C. A&T coach Jay Joyner. “We made so many mistakes early on it allowed Howard to get going offensively. Then they got comfortable. Then they hit a couple of shots and the rest is history. Williams and Miller were playing like this was their gym.”
Williams and Miller used dribble penetration most of the night to do their damage. The Bison (5-14, 2-2 MEAC) were 24-for-39 (.615) from inside the 3-point arc on Saturday. Joyner expressed the belief that much of what the Bison guards accomplished could have been prevented if the Aggies had not turned the ball over four times in the first five minutes. Joyner also plans to work on-the-ball defense when the Aggies return to practice.
“Teams are going to the line way too much against us,” Joyner said. “Either we're playing opponents in our conference who are playing more aggressive than we are, or we're not guarding the basketball properly. We're using our hands instead of sitting down in a chair and moving our feet. Either way we have to correct it.”
Howard's offense started being productive midway through the first half as the Bison hit 10 of 11 shots over a 10-minute span to take a 35-20 lead with 3:12 remaining in the first half. Over the final two minutes of the half, however, the Aggies began to slow the Bison's momentum. Junior guard Eliel Gonzalez hit a runner in the paint followed by dishing off a pass to junior Donte Watson on a fastbreak to cut the Bison's lead to 35-24. The half ended with two consecutive layups from Hamilton to send the Aggies into the locker room down 35-28.
The Aggies (1-18, 0-6 MEAC) were able to keep the game close early in the second half. A Hunt 3-pointer kept the Aggies within seven at 45-38 four minutes into the first half. But Howard found their rhythm again. Four straight made field goals gave the Bison a 55-42 lead over the next two minutes. The Aggies never got the lead under double digits again.
Scales did get the lead down to 11 with a turnaround jumper, but Williams' 3-pointer gave the Bison a 58-44 lead with 10:50 to play. From there it was free throw shooting for the Bison as they went 10-for-14 from the line over the final 10 minutes of the game to secure the victory.
“The idea is when you have someone in your gym you're supposed to bring energy from the jump, so they can't get comfortable. This is your gym, this is where you practice, this is where you play. No one should be more excited than you to play in your gym. Letting two players beat you is not good defense. It's unacceptable, so we're at the point now where we are going to put players on the floor who want to play defense.”
N.C. A&T will need that defensive intensity Joyner speaks of next week as they travel to Durham to play heated arch rival North Carolina Central at McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium, 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28.
