NICEVILLE, Fla. – Despite a career-high 24 points from junior guard Demetric Horton, the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team fell to the Samford Bulldogs, 77-75, inside Raider Arena in the second round of the Emerald Coast Classic. 

The Aggies (1-6) trailed by 17, 62-45, with just over nine minutes to play in the game. Some hot shooting, however, quickly flipped that script. A&T knocked down six of their next seven 3-pointers with redshirt freshman forward Marcus Watson (Buford, Ga.) leading the way with three 3-pointers during the run.  

Following a thunderous dunk from senior forward Webster Filmore (Charlotte, N.C.), junior guard Demetric Horton (Raleigh, N.C.) added two 3-pointers to the 3-point barrage to make it a 70-66 game with 2:37 to play.

After two Ques Glover free throws for the Bulldogs, a David Beatty (Philadelphia, Pa.) three got the Aggies to within three at 72-69 with two minutes remaining on the clock. Almost a minute later, graduate guard Kameron Langley (Greensboro, N.C.) put the Aggies down one.

Filmore then followed a Glover made jumper with another dunk to keep the lead at one, 74-73, with 22 seconds remaining. Glover followed by going to the line to hit two free throws, which was followed by two made free throws from Beatty with 11 seconds to go.

The Aggies fouled Jermaine Marshall, who hit one of two free throws, but the Aggies did not respond with an answer as their comeback attempt came up short.

Solid free throw shooting from the Bulldogs (4-1) kept the Aggies at a deficit. Samford made 9 of 10 free throws inside the 5-minute mark and 17 of 21 (.810) free throws for the game. Glover led all scorers with 25 points on 12-of-12 shooting from the line.  The Aggies were 9-for-18 (.500) at the free throw line. 

"This group is resilient," said A&T coach Will Jones. "They are fighters. We need to keep developing and teaching as a staff. I have to keep motivating to get the very best out of each guy. I look for us to be ready to play a solid St. Francis team tomorrow." 

Horton and Watson scored career highs with Horton posting 24 points on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range. He also had seven rebounds and three steals. Watson finished with 22 on 5-for-6 shooting from three. Langley got in on the action as well with his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 assists to go along with five rebounds.  

The Aggies knocked down a season-best 12 3-pointers and shot 52.3 percent from beyond the arc. A&T continued their menacing defensive ways, forcing the Bulldogs into 15 turnovers that led to a 15-7 advantage in points off turnovers.  

The Bulldogs got off to a 10-0 run to start the game before Horton broke open the scoring for the Aggies with a 3-pointer. Horton scored 11 of A&T's first 14 points to get the Aggies back in the game.

The Aggies face St. Francis-Brooklyn at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 27 at Raider Arena.