HAMPTON, Va. -- The streak is over.
No. Not that one. The North Carolina A&T has won three straight men's basketball games thanks to its 79-67 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) win over the Hampton Pirates Monday night at the Convocation Center.
The streak that ended was A&T's trailing by double-figures streak. The Aggies came into the game having trailed by double-figures in eight straight contests.
However, the Aggies never trailed on Monday. Hampton tied the game twice within the first 70 seconds of the game. Besides that, A&T played with a double-figure lead most of the game, improving to 9-11 overall and 4-3 in CAA play.
"We have been harping to the guys for a while now that we need to get off to a fast start," said interim head coach Phillip Shumpert. "Our guys finally got off to a big-time start in the first half. They did a great job executing the game plan and a tremendous job on the defensive end. But overall, it was really good to see us get off to a good start from the jump."
A&T improved on its fast start by taking a 10-point lead, 23-13, midway through the first half as senior Demetric Horton followed a Kam Woods miss to score, and Woods drove the lane to score on a runner. Hampton quickly responded with a 12-3 outburst that cut A&T's lead to 26-25 with 4:41 to play in the first half.
Hampton even had a chance to take the lead after a Marcus Watson miss, but Deuce Russell missed a 3-pointer long, which allowed the Aggies to get into transition. Sophomore guard Love Bettis sprinted down the floor and an open Woods for a fastbreak three that swished.
Seconds later, Duncan Powell stepped in front of a Jordan Nesbitt pass for a steal and threw the ball ahead to Woods. The 6-foot-2 guard out of Alabama promptly rocked the rim with a two-handed dunk, giving A&T a 31-25 lead and forcing the Pirates to call a timeout.
But the Pirates did not get what they wanted from the timeout. The referees whistled Russell for a technical foul, which led to two made free throws by Bettis. Watson then found sophomore Kyle Duke cutting backdoor for an easy layup.
A&T's 12-0 run ended when Duke found Horton coming off a screen as Horton netted the three to give the Aggies a 38-25 lead with 2:15 remaining in the first half. Hampton did score the next five points, but the Aggies got a layup from Powell and two free throws from Woods to lead 42-30 at the half.
It was a big night for the Aggies top three scorers. Woods finished with 27 points and four assists on 9-for-17 shooting from the floor and 4-for-8 shooting from three. He is averaging 21.1 points in CAA games only. Watson finished with 18 points and three assists on 7-for-13 shooting.
Meanwhile, Horton recorded his third career double-double as he finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He has 21 rebounds in his last two games.
"If we can continue to get that out of those guys, we can be really, really good," said Shumpert. "I was impressed with how hard they played. Horton's defense was tremendous. He guarded one of the best 3-point shooters in the league (Marquis Godwin) and frustrated him.
Kam Woods is becoming a leader on the floor. He's learning how to run a team and get us into the things we need to be in to be successful. He is making good decisions right now. And if Marcus Watson keeps getting to the basket and rebounding, we will be pretty good."
A&T's second-half lead ballooned to 19, 55-36, when Horton threw what looked like a touchdown pass down the floor to Watson for a dunk with 15:46 remaining. Over the next eight minutes, Hampton did get A&T's lead down to nine, 63-54, on a Kyrese Mullen free throw.
But on A&T's next possession, Mullens fouled on a 3-point attempt. Woods made all three free throws. Seconds later, a Hampton turnover led to a fastbreak, where Horton threw a behind-the-back pass to Watson for a layup and a 68-54 lead with 6:43 to play.
A&T's lead grew to as many as 19 before the final buzzer sounded as they started and finished strong. Nesbitt led Hampton with 18 points.
