UTEP 72, A&T 54

EL PASO, Texas – Senior forward Ronald Jackson notched his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds but the North Carolina A&T Aggies fell to the UTEP Miners, 72-54, in the first round of the Don Haskins Invitational in El Paso, Texas.
 
N.C. A&T falls to 3-8 overall.
 
"As a coach, I have to make sure we're getting better on a daily basis," said N.C. A&T coach Jay Joyner. "I thought we had a lot of positive moments in this game and we have to continue to build on that."
 
One of those aforementioned positives is that the Aggies had a season-low seven turnovers and a positive assist-to-turnover ratio for the first time this season as the Aggies compiled nine assists.
 
Freshman guard Fred Cleveland, Jr. had a team-high and a season-high 14 points for N.C. A&T. Junior guard Kameron Langley added six assists and four steals.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first half. The Aggies held the lead twice, the largest being two points. UTEP jumped out to a quick 18-8 advantage with under 15 minutes to play. Over the next four minutes, N.C. A&T went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to three, 18-15.
 
Trailing 24-19 with under seven minutes left in the half, the Aggies put together another spurt, this time a 6-0 outburst to take the lead. The run was ignited by a monstrous put back dunk from Ronald Jackson.
 
The Miners (7-1) would outscore N.C. A&T 13-5 in the time remaining to take a 37-29 lead into the locker room.
 
A slow start to the second half proved to be the difference in the game as the Miners went on an 18-3 run over five minutes and pulled away from the Aggies for good.
 
"With the tournament format, we have a short turnaround," said Joyner. "You have to have a short memory and erase tonight because it's over. We have to go back to the hotel and watch film and prepare for a very good Kent State team."
 
The Aggies will play again tomorrow night, Dec. 17 against Kent State in the consolation game of the Don Haskins Invitational in El Paso, Texas at 7 p.m.