COLLEGE PARK, Md. (November 12, 2108) – North Carolina A&T is still trying to learn each other. They are having to do it, unfortunately, against an NCAA tournament team from last season, an ACC school and most recently a Big 10 institution.
On Monday, the Maryland Terrapins of the Big 10 used their considerable height advantage to down the Aggies 82-59 in men's basketball non-conference action at Xfinity Arena.
N.C. A&T did not place a player in double figures. Sophomore Kameron Langley led the way with nine points, five rebounds and three assists on 4-for-6 shooting. The Aggies, who had 20 3-pointers made coming into the game, made just four threes on Monday. For the third straight game, the Aggies were outrebounded by double figures with the Terrapins holding a 45-30 edge.
“I had to make a statement tonight that if you're not going to play together you're not going to play,” said N.C. A&T Jay Joyner. “The guys that do not normally play went out there and got the job done in the second half. If we play the right way, we're going to be successful. If we don't play together, we're not going to be successful.”
The Aggies (0-3) played 14 players on Monday. Reserves such as graduate center Nelson Nweke, senior guard Milik Gantz, graduate Amari Hamilton and freshman Ed Ferguson played significant minutes in the second half. Freshman Tyrone Lyons also played a lot in the second half after making his first career start. As a result, the Aggies outscored the Terrapins (3-0) 34-33 in the second half.
Not only did the Aggies finish strong, but they also started strong. Graduate forward Terry Harris hit a corner three off a pass from Langley to give the Aggies an 8-6 lead three minutes into the game. But the Terrapins started to use their talented bigs to pull away from N.C. A&T.
“Their size was an eye opener for our guys. I think our guys realized how hard you have to play to be successful,” said Joyner. “We as a coaching staff just have to continue to teach to put these young men in a position to compete and win.”
Big men Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith started to assert themselves. Fernando's dunk tied the game at 8. Fernando also hit a jumper in the lane before scoring on another layup to give Maryland a 13-8 lead. Langley swooped in for a layup to cut the lead to three. Langley then stopped a 5-0 UMD run with a drive to the basket where the ball bounced on the rim twice before falling through. He was fouled on the play, hit the And-1 to bring the Aggies to within five, 18-13 with 11:44 to play in the first half.
But the Terrapins scored the next 11 points to take a 29-13 lead. The Aggies were never able to get to within in single figures again. UMD led 49-25 at the half.
“I have a hard job making sure everyone plays,” said Joyner. “We are extremely deep this year. Anyone on our bench can step on the floor and get the job done. That's a luxury as a coach that I have. I am going to go into the locker room and praise (the reserves) because they played extremely hard despite the lead Maryland had at halftime.”
