A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: G David Beatty (13 PTS, 5-for-8 FGs, 2 REB); G Demetric Horton (9 PTS, 3-for-9 FG, 6 REB, 5 AST); G Tyler Maye (10 PTS, 5-for-7 FG); F Webster Filmore (11 PTS, 5-for-5 FG, 4 REB); F Harry Morrice (10 PTS, 5-for-8 FG, 5 REB)
CARVER STATISTICAL LEADERS: F Dyllon Scott (18 PTS, 5-for-12 FG, 6 REB); G Antwon Ferrell (14 PTS, 5-for-12 FG, 3 STL)
WHY A&T GOT THE W: Like they have done all season, the Aggies forced their opponent into turnovers, leading to easy fastbreak points on the offensive end. A&T's stifling defense led to 17 turnovers for the Cougars, which translated into a 21-4 advantage for the Aggies in points off turnovers.
WHY CARVER DIDN'T GET THE W: The sheer size mismatch between the Cougars and the Aggies proved fatal. The Cougars could not stop A&T from doing whatever it wanted, with the Blue and Gold outscoring the Cougars a whopping 58-18 in points in the paint. Carver also lost the rebounding battle, 49-29, which turned into 17 more shots for A&T offensively.
CRUCIAL: It was a relative back-and-forth affair for the first 10 minutes of the game, with A&T leading 14-10. However, the Aggies asserted themselves with a 23-6 run highlighted by eight points for Beatty to make it a 37-16 game with just over a minute remaining in the first half. The Aggies put the clamps on the Cougars in the first half defensively, holding Carver to just 5-for-25 (.200) shooting from the field.
EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. – The North Carolina A&T Aggies moved to 2-0 at home this season following a 97-55 victory over the Carver Cougars inside Corbett Sports Center, Friday evening.
The game's first bucket belonged to junior guard Demetric Horton on a layup in the paint, a score that began a 7-0 spurt for the Aggies (3-6). The Cougars (0-11) responded quickly with five points from the Scott duo, a 3-pointer from Dyllon and a layup off a turnover from Bryson, who finished with six points.
After the first media timeout of the game, A&T seemed to finally get their feet underneath them and went to work.
A 14-10 lead ballooned into a 37-16 advantage over the next several minutes, aided mainly by graduate guard David Beatty, who had eight points on two 3-pointers over the spurt and a team-high 13 for the game.
Another Beatty 3-ball, coupled with buckets from sophomore forward Marcus Watson and graduate guard Tyler Maye allowed the Aggies a 44-20 halftime advantage. A&T shot 55.9 percent (19-for-34) in the first 20 minutes compared to just 20 percent (5-for-25) for Carver.
The Aggies successfully set the tone for the rest of the game, coming out of the break with a thunderous alley-oop slam from senior forward Webster Filmore. A&T used that momentum to extend their lead to 30, 52-22, with 16:28 remaining in the game.
Having the game well in hand, head coach Will Jones sent redshirt freshmen Trey Crews and Ahmad Hamilton and sophomore Justin Brooks to the table to check into the game.
Crews was fouled shortly after, knocking down both free throws, going 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the game. His four points set a new career-high.
Hamilton got in on the action as well. He scored his first career points on a fast break layup assisted by freshman guard Kyle Duke. Hamilton split a trip to the free-throw line a few moments later before culminating the Aggies' scoring on the night with another fastbreak layup. Hamilton finished the game career-highs in points (5) and assists (2).
QUOTABLE: "It's all big. It's a part of that team that we talk about having. These guys work hard every day in practice, they help us prepare, and they are part of that nucleus of the team, so it's always good for them to get out there and let the guys celebrate them. It's a part of a winning culture."
A&T Head Coach Will Jones on the importance of the bench getting a lot of minutes tonight
"We've just got to get back to grinding. I think we've learned a little bit more about ourselves, but we're facing stiff competition. We've got to be ready, and hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, we'll add a couple of guys and try to mesh those guys into the rotation, but at the end of the day, we're just trying to prepare and get better."
Jones ahead of the team's upcoming 4-game road trip
