A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Tyler Maye (14 pts, 10 rebs., 5 offensive, 6-for-11 FGs); C Collin Smith (12 pts, 6 rebs.); F Jeremy Robinson (11 pts, 3-for-4 3-point FGs); G Marcus Watson (8 pts, 7 rebs.); G Kameron Langley (5 assists, 5 rebs., 2 stls); F Webster Filmore (9 rebs., 6 offensive).

HAMPTON STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Raymond Bethea Jr., (21 pts., 10 rebs., 5 offensive, 9-for-17 FGs); G Marquis Godwin (10 pts., 6 rebs.); C Dajour Dickens (3 blks.). 

WHY A&T GOT THE "W": Rebounding. Six of A&T's first seven opponents outrebounded them. Then, in stepped Collin Smith toward the end of December, head coach Will Jones challenged 6-foot-6 Marcus Watson, and now the Aggies are rebounding monsters. They outrebounded the Pirates 55-43. Twenty-two of the Aggies rebounds came on the offensive end, which led to a 14-2 advantage in second-chance points in the first half. The Aggies are plus-35 on the boards in their last four games combined. 

WHY HU DIDN'T GET THE "W": The Pirates came into the game with the worst shooting percentage and scoring offense in the Big South Conference. That didn't change much on Wednesday. The Pirates shot .344 from the field, including .267 in the first half. A team who came into the game averaging just 62.2 points per game scored only 59 points on Wednesday. 

 CRUCIAL: During a frantic four-minute time period on the clock, which lasted about 25 minutes in real-time, the Aggies pulled away from the Pirates. The timeframe included four different players getting technical fouls, a player getting ejected, and players getting plenty agitated with each other; the Aggies went on a 16-3 run that gave them a 59-34 lead with 11:52 to play. Despite Hampton's late run, A&T's lead proved to be insurmountable. 

EAST GREENSBORO – Sometimes, when old friends have not seen each other in a while, things can get a little crazy, perhaps a little interesting. 

The North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball team won its fourth straight and improved to 3-0 with a 67-59 win over the Hampton Pirates Wednesday night at Corbett Sports Center. The Aggies improved to 8-9 overall, while the Pirates slipped to 4-9 overall and 0-2 in league play. 

A&T and Hampton renewed their 70-year Historically Black College and or University (HBCU) rivalry, which now spans three different conferences (Central Intercollegiate, Athletic Association, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Big South). The 66th meeting between the two teams included eight technical fouls, three ejections, including a fan tossed from the stands, and plenty of replay reviews to determine who received said technical. 

"We definitely rekindle our relationship with Hampton," said Will Jones. "I knew it was going to be chippy. But overall, the guys did what they needed to do to be 1-0 tonight, and now we're going to get ready for Saturday." 

In between all the excitement and in front of the typical raucous #ClubCorbett crowd, the Aggies played like a fine-tuned machine most of the night. They tenaciously hammered the offensive boards, they defended well, and after the first 20 minutes, they only had four turnovers. 

When Tyler Maye followed a Webster Filmore miss with 3:06 remaining in the first half, the Aggies took a 30-19 lead. A&T maintained a double-digit lead well into the second half. Maye's putback was a part of a 15-3 Aggies run over the final six minutes of the first half to give the Aggies a 39-22 halftime lead. 

"I thought we came out with the right energy," said Jones. "It's really good to be 3-0 in the Big South. But ended up being a very long game." 

The Aggies lead grew to as many as 25 points, 59-34 with 11:52 to play. As the Aggies built their lead, Hampton lost its leading scorer in Najee Graves to an ejection. Later, they lost starting forward DeAngelo Epps to an ejection because referees called him for two technical fouls. 

The Pirates made a huge run over the next 7 ½ minutes despite the ejections. When Marquis Godwin netted a three off of a pass from Raymond Bethea, Jr., the Aggies lead was reduced to seven, 60-53 with 4:31 remaining. 

Hampton had a chance to cut to five, but Godwin's difficult layup in a congested lane came up short. Aggies guard Kameron Langley grabbed the rebound and found Maye sprinting down the court. Godwin ran down Maye and fouled him hard. Referees called Godwin for an intentional foul. 

Maye netted both free throws, which seemed to settle the Aggies. Then, with less than a minute to play, Langley swooped down the lane and dropped off a pretty pass to Collin Smith, who dunked it to give the Aggies a comfortable 65-55 lead. 

"I thought we executed in spurts tonight," said Jones. "Defensively, we made them miss some shots early. But we've got to continue to get better. We can't handle a lead right now. We think the game is over, so I've got to continue to coach them."

QUOTABLE: "(Tyler) is getting back from the COVID pause. For him to come off the bench and be ready to go, give us a spark, and get us going from a scoring standpoint was big. That's tough when you've got Kam Langley and T-Maye coming off the bench. You're really good coming off the bench. I attribute that to our depth." 

Coach Jones on having Kameron Langley and Tyler Maye coming off the bench 

GAME NOTES: 

• Tyler Maye secured his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. His rebounds marked a career-high and his five offensive rebounds tied a career-high. 
• Kameron Langley moved another step up on the NCAA's all-time career assists list. Wednesday night, his five assists gives 842, putting him into 22nd place past UMass' Chaz Williams. 
• A&T's win improved the Aggies to 5-0 at home this season. It was also their 29th straight win at home against a conference opponent. 
• The Aggies improved to 16-14 all-time against Hampton in Greensboro. 
• Jeremy Robinson's three 3-pointers marked a new career-high for the senior. 
• North Carolina A&T grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds. It was their highest offensive rebound total since grabbing 23 at Florida A&M on Feb. 21, 2021. 
• Their 55 total rebounds were also a season-high, and the most since grabbing 58 boards against Greensboro College on Dec. 18, 2020.