Men's Basketball | 1/29/2022 11:12:00 PM
Box Score
A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: F Marcus Watson (21 pts, 5 rebs); G Demetric Horton (10 pts, 5 rebs); G Tyler Maye (10 pts, 3-for-6 FGs)
UPSTATE STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Bryson Mozone (19 pts, 6-for-10 FGs, 7 rebs); G Jordan Gainey (19 pts, 6 rebs, 6 assists); G Dalvin White (16 pts, 6 assists); Josh Aldrich (11 pts); Khydarius Smith (10 pts, 5 rebs)
WHY A&T DIDN'T GET THE W: The Aggies could not buy a bucket on Saturday night, shooting 35.8 percent from the field and just 12 percent (3-for-25) from 3-point range. A&T had 15 more shots than the Spartans, but USC Upstate made three more field goals in the game.
WHY UPSTATE GOT THE W: Upstate did an outstanding job sharing the basketball. The Spartans shot 51.9 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. They did so by getting quality looks from great ball movement within their offense, resulting in a 22-9 advantage in team assists.
CRUCIAL: Marcus Watson had the Aggies within four, 47-43, after scoring eight points in the first six minutes of the second half to overcome an 11-point second-half deficit. However, Spartan freshman guard Jordan Gainey responded executing a 7-point spurt by himself. The run was highlighted by a four-point play that put Upstate ahead by double-figures again, 54-43. A&T would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. – The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team dropped their third straight game overall and second straight at home with an 84-64 loss to USC Upstate Saturday evening at Corbett Sports Center.
The Aggies (9-13, 4-4 Big South) and Spartans (9-11, 6-2 Big South) were stalemated at zero for the first three and a half minutes of the game before Upstate forward Josh Aldrich knocked down a 3-pointer, a sign of things to come.
Graduate guard Kameron Langley checked into the game for A&T and immediately provided a spark, assisting on a bucket for forward Collin Smith and jumping into the passing lane on the defensive end leading to a fast-break layup, giving the Aggies the lead, 4-3.
After that, the Spartans began to catch fire, knocking down a 3-pointer on their next four offensive possessions, all from four different players, enabling them to jump out to a seven-point lead. The Aggies rifled off an 8-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer from junior big man Harry Morrice to get back in the game as the two teams stayed within two points of each other over the next five minutes.
It was a tie game at 24 with 5:59 remaining in the first half when Upstate pulled away on the shoulders of a 13-3 spurt to take a 10-point lead, 42-32, into the locker room.
Redshirt sophomore guard Marcus Watson had just four points on 2-for-9 shooting at the intermission and seemed determined to change that over the first few minutes of the second half. Watson went to work, scoring eight points in the first few minutes, getting the Aggies to within four, 47-43.
But the Spartans outscored the Aggies 28-12 to take a 75-55 lead with 3:41 to play. Watson did have 17 second-half points but could not pull the Aggies through.
QUOTABLE: "Tough loss. Tough loss tonight. It's been a tough week for us. Two close games and then definitely a let-down at home tonight. Upstate, I thought they played the way they normally play. I just thought we showed up a little flat. Energy wasn't there. And so, we lost by 20. We've got to figure it out before we play on Thursday, which we will, and try to get this thing back going."
A&T Head Coach Will Jones following the Aggies third-straight loss
GAME NOTES:
- The Aggies have now lost two straight after winning 29-straight home conference games dating back to February 2017.
- They are now 305-195 (.610) all-time at the Corbett Sports Center and 19-5 (.792) under Jones.
- Watson notched his third career 20-point scoring game and his first since Nov. 27.
- The Aggies have surrendered 29 3-pointers in their last two home games combined.
- A&T had its least amount of turnovers -- six -- since turning the ball over five times against UNC Greensboro on Nov. 9, 2021.
- Six-foot, one-inch Tyler Maye is one of the best offensive rebounders in the Big South, ranking in the top-10. He had three more on Saturday.
- A&T's next game will air live on ESPNU as they travel to Rock Hill, S.C., to face Winthrop at 7 p.m.
