A&T STATISTICAL LEADERS: F Marcus Watson (27 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST); G Kameron Langley (6 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST); G Demetric Horton (12 PTS, 3 REB)
LWU STATISTICAL LEADERS: G Justin Hill (24 PTS, 12-for-14 FT, 7 REB, 5 AST); G Deshaun Wade (17 PTS, 5 REB); G Isaiah Wilkins (15 PTS, 12 REB)
WHY A&T DIDN'T GET THE "W": Too many mistakes. From a technical foul that awarded Longwood two free throws, or an 0-for-2 trip to the free throw line in the final seconds, A&T made too many mistakes to come out victorious on Friday afternoon.
WHY LWU GOT THE "W": Offensive rebounds. The Lancers snatched 15 offensive rebounds during the game, leading to an 11-4 advantage in second-chance points. Longwood also won the turnover battle, 16-10.
CRUCIAL: With the game tied at 62 with 13 seconds left, Langley drew a shooting foul following an offensive rebound, sending him to the line for two shots. The graduate guard would miss both, however, giving the Lancers a shot at the end of the game. Wilkins came off a screen and attempted a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded but came up short. Then, in overtime, Langley, one of the best assists-men in NCAA history, fouled out, leaving the Aggies without their legendary floor general.
CHARLOTTE – North Carolina A&T played the top men's basketball team in the Big South Conference down to the wire for the third time this season.
Unfortunately, the Aggies lost two of those matchups, with Saturday's loss at the Big South tournament ending their 2021-22 season as the Longwood Lancers advanced with a 79-65 overtime inside the Bojangles' Coliseum.
The Aggies had multiple chances to secure the win in regulation. Watson put A&T up two on a hook shot in the post, and then some stellar defense forced a miss on the other end. Horton snatched the rebound out of the air but did not secure it after coming down, and Wade was able to poke it out and give the Lancers the ball back.
They didn't waste it. Wilkins weaved through the lane for a layup to tie the game at 63 with 40 seconds remaining.
Even still, A&T found themselves with Langley at the line shooting two with 13 seconds left in the game. The graduate missed both, however, sending the Aggies into their second straight overtime of the tournament.
A&T didn't have it in the extra period. The Aggies shot 1-for-8 from the field, falling behind 73-65 with only 50 seconds remaining in OT. The Aggies needed the Lancers to miss some chances at the line, but they went 10-for-10 in overtime to ice the game.
In the two conference tournament games, Watson averaged 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds to lead A&T. Junior forward Jeremy Robinson averaged a career-best 14.5 points over the two-game stretch.
The Aggies battled hard in the first half despite trailing 26-14 over the first 12 minutes of action. Behind nine points from Watson, however, the Aggies went on a 15-1 run to take a 29-27 lead with 3:42 remaining in the first half.
Longwood went on an 8-0 run of their own before graduate guard David Beatty disrupted it with a layup right before the halftime horn, making it 35-31.
QUOTABLE: "Big South basketball. It's been an unbelievable tournament so far. North Carolina A&T, these guys fought. We had our chances to control our own destiny. At the end of the day, as a coach, look back and make sure these guys are prepared and go out there and execute and have a chance to win against a good Longwood team. We had them on the ropes in regulation. If we handle our business, I would be, Marcus would be, in the locker room celebrating right now. But congratulations to Longwood as they move on. I'm proud of my guys and looking forward to leading this program in the right direction moving forward.
A&T Head Coach Will Jones following the season-ending loss
GAME NOTES:
- Coach Jones drops to 2-1 in conference tournament games and 2-2 in overtime contests as the head coach for A&T.
- Watson notched his team-leading 16th double-figure scoring game of the season on Friday. It was also the seventh time he has led the team in scoring this season.
- Watson also secured his fourth career double-double and second-straight with 27 points and 11 boards.
- Langley finishes his stellar collegiate career with 902 assists, tied for 14th all-time. He became just the 15th player ever to hit the 900-dime mark in NCAA history during the game Friday.
- Langley will likely lead the Big South in assists this season, marking the fourth straight season he has led his respective conference in assists after leading the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in assists three consecutive seasons.
- Langley is the MEAC's all-time assist leader with 757.
- Langley's 279 career steals are tied for 77th-best in NCAA history.
- Along with Langley, the Aggies will say goodbye to Tyler Maye, Collin Smith, David Beatty, and Webster Filmore after this season.
