ROCK HILL, S.C. – North Carolina A&T endured its fourth straight loss. The Wintrhop Eagles used a solid second half in front of a nationally-televised audience on ESPNU to defeat the Aggies 64-54 in Big South Conference men's basketball action Thursday night at the Winthrop Coliseum.
The Aggies (9-14, 4-5 Big South) got off to a great start, especially on the defensive side. They forced the Eagles (14-8, 7-2 Big South) into five turnovers in the first six minutes of the game. A 3-pointer from junior forward Harry Morrice ignited an 8-0 run that had A&T out front 17-9.
Three 3-pointers from three different players got the Eagles right back in the game, 23-20. A layup from graduate guard David Beatty extended the Aggies lead back to five briefly, but a 3-point play on the other end made it 25-23.
Before the intermission, graduate forward Justin Whatley contributed a five-point spurt to give A&T some breathing room, 31-25.
The script flipped in the second half as Winthrop started to find its groove offensively, and A&T went cold. After forcing seven turnovers in the first half, the Aggies forced just three in the second.
An 11-4 run featuring three 3-pointers gave the Eagles a 36-35 lead, their first since the 15-minute mark in the first half. However, junior guard Demetric Horton responded immediately with a 3-pointer to take the lead back.
But over eight minutes, however, the Aggies mustered only five points and shot 2-for-8 over that span. Winthrop took advantage, building a 49-41 lead with 6:15 to play.
A&T pulled within three, 53-50, with just over three minutes remaining in the game. But the Aggies went the remainder of the game without a field goal while the Eagles made two buckets. Winthrop also shot 7-for-9 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the game.
Redshirt sophomore forward Marcus Watson led A&T in scoring with 11 points, and Horton joined him in double-figures with 10. Horton also had a team-high eight boards. In their past two games, the Aggies have shot a combined 9-for-47 (.191) from 3-point range.
