BUIES CREEK – The North Carolina A&T men's basketball team dropped a road contest to the Campbell Fighting Camels, 64-63, inside the Pope Convocation Center in Big South Conference action Saturday night.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Aggies (11-17, 6-8) had more points than the Camels (15-10, 8-6). Upon review, however, officials determined that a foul occurred on a layup made from Ricky Clemons after the buzzer sounded and the red light flashed on the basket. As a result, officials awarded the Camels the basket and Clemons a free throw, which he missed, draining the final second off the clock for the second time.
The Camels held a six-point advantage following a 3-pointer from Austin McCullough with 3:26 remaining in the game. On the other end, graduate forward Justin Whatley followed with a jump hook in the lane, cutting the deficit to four, 59-55.
McCullough split a trip to the free throw line, and after a turnover from graduate guard Tyler Maye, Clemons was fouled and did the same, effectively extending Campbell's lead back to six with just over two minutes to play.
Junior guard Demetric Horton found an empty spot on the court just in time for graduate guard Kameron Langley to see him behind the 3-point arc. Horton did not waste the opportunity, draining a triple to make it 61-58.
On the following defensive possession, Langley came up with a steal, and Horton was fouled on the ensuing fast break. The junior split the free throws but less than 50 seconds later, found himself at the line again, and tied the game at 61.
The Camels went through their offensive set with time winding down. Jordan Whitfield, who hit the game-winning shot on Jan. 22 at Corbett Sports Center, got an open look from 3-point land again but missed the mark.
A&T had the ball with the shot clock turned off and went directly to sophomore forward Marcus Watson, who drove straight at his defender and forced a foul call, earning a pair of free throws. Watson knocked them down and gave the Aggies a two-point, 63-61 lead.
Whitfield split through the A&T defense with 10 seconds remaining. He was halted at the rim but fouled by Watson on the way up. Whitfield made the first freebie, but the second one rimmed out, and the Aggies had the ball and the lead with little time remaining.
Horton was immediately fouled and went to the line, where he was 3-for-4 on the day. However, Horton missed both free throws with seven seconds remaining. Campbell's leading scorer on the night, Cedric Henderson (25 points), barely missed a 3-point attempt before the game's final controversial sequence.
Maye led A&T offensively with 17 points and nine rebounds. Horton added 16 points and seven rebounds, and Watson contributed 10 points in 14 minutes. Langley tallied a team-high four assists and now has 883 dimes in his career.
It was a tight-knit first half, with both teams trading blows over the initial 20 minutes. A&T tightened up defensively down the stretch, holding the Camels without a field goal over the final 4:35. A thunderous dunk from Watson gave the Aggies a 30-29 advantage that they took into the intermission.
A&T's mischievous ways on defense continued in this one. They forced the Camels into 10 turnovers, leading to an 18-7 advantage in points off those mishaps. They also got an excellent lift from their bench, outscoring Campbell's, 24-9.
