HAMPTON, Va. (January 4, 2017) – North Carolina A&T men's basketball has used a stingy defense to remain competitive in the vast majority of their games this season. The problem they have run into and ran into again Wednesday night at the Convocation Center is an ability to score in crucial moments in the ballgame.
The issue rose up to sting them again in the midst of a second-half rally as Hampton used the drought to earn a 68-53 win over the Aggies in both teams' conference opener. N.C. A&T dropped to 1-13 despite junior guard Amari Hamilton scoring in double figures for the first time in his career with a 12-point outing on 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. Junior Eliel Gonzalez came off the bench to score 11 and Sam Hunt finished with 10 points.
“I don't think we gave maximum effort tonight and that's disappointing going into our first conference game,” said coach Jay Joyner. “Conference is what you build up toward in the non-conference, so to come out and not give our best effort is hard to accept. Going forward we can only play the guys who are going to give maximum effort.”
A strong effort early on came from Hamilton who came into the game shooting 3-for-22 from 3-point range. Yet, a series of 3-pointers from the Durham native got the Aggies going offensively, as his hot shooting was contagious early. His 3-pointer from the elbow with 11 minutes remaining in the first half was his third of the half and it gave the Aggies a 15-14 lead. His 3-pointer was followed by a 3-pointer from Gonzalez, a 3-pointer from Hunt and a 3-pointer from redshirt junior James Whitaker as Whitaker's three tied the game at 26 with 3:38 to go in the first half.
Three-and-half minutes later the game was tied at 29. But Lysander Bracey gave the Pirates a boost going into the locker room as he netted a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining in the half to give Hampton a 32-29 halftime lead. Hampton (4-10, 1-0 MEAC) went on to grow their lead to 11 in the second half as a tip-in from Akim Mitchell gave the Pirates a 51-40 advantage with 12 minutes to play.
N.C. A&T, coming off tough, close losses to Georgia Tech, Rider, UMass and Kennesaw State, began to fight back. Their first set of good news is that they entered the bonus with 10:44 remaining in the game. Whitaker and junior Davaris McGowens took advantage by hitting two free throws apiece to cut Hampton's lead to seven. After Hampton's Kalin Fisher scored in transition, Gonzalez pulled up for a deep 3-pointer with shot clock running down to pull the Aggies to within six at 53-47. Two more free throws from the Aggies, this time by Gonzalez, sliced the lead to four with 8:16 to play.
Then the scoring stopped. The Aggies went the next seven minutes without a point. In fact, the Aggies did not even attempt a free throw in that span. By the time junior Austin Williams scored on a drive into the lane with 1:24 to play, the Pirates lead had grown to 68-51. Hampton not only took advantage of the Aggies scoring drought, but their 15 offensive rebounds led to a 17-2 advantage in second chance points and the Aggies 15 turnovers led to a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
“It's back to the drawing board for us,” said Joyner. “Delaware State will be playing in their first conference game, so they're going to be hungry to get off to a good start. We have to be ready to play and we're going to play those guys who are ready to play.”
Delaware State comes to Corbett Sports Center on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 4 p.m.
