Men's Basketball | 1/28/2023 8:45:00 AM

STREAM: The game will air live on FloHoops, with Spencer Turkin providing the play-by-play and Walter Johnson serving as the analysis.

EAST GREENSBORO -- North Carolina A&T Athletics will honor the 2012-13 men's basketball team Saturday on their 10th anniversary of winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament championship. The team will be honored during halftime of the Aggies 2 p.m. game against Monmouth at Corbett Sports Center. 

It was a senior-led team that had to gel with a first-year coaching staff led by legendary coach Cy Alexander. The team started conference play 6-4 but lost three straight to fall to 6-7. Then they caught fire! 

The Aggies won two of their last three regular-season games and entered the MEAC tournament as the No. 8 seed. The Aggies won four games in five days to claim their 16th MEAC title. Along the way, the Aggies upset archrival and No. 1 seed N.C. Central. 

They held the high-powered Eagles to 23 percent shooting in a 55-42 quarterfinal win. Next, they defeated Delaware State in the semis before facing Morgan State in the final. 

Leading 53-51, Austin Witter blocked a shot that led to a fastbreak layup as Jeremy Underwood found Bruce Beckford for two with 1:45 remaining in the game. It would be the game-winning sequence in a 57-54 win, leading the Aggies to their 10th NCAA tournament appearance. 

Adrian Powell, the cousin to current Aggie player Duncan Powell, earned most outstanding player honors for the tournament. He had 14 points in the championship game and averaged 15.2 points in four tournament games. 

The Aggies defeated Liberty in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, 73-72, thanks to a Witter blocked shot and 19 points from Underwood, who made all six of his field goal attempts. The season ended with a loss to eventual national champion Louisville. 

It is a historic team. The 2012-13 team is the only team in program history to win an NCAA tournament game. The Aggies went 20-17, breaking the program's single-season record for games played. In addition, Austin Witter broke the program's single-season blocked shots record with 109 to earn the 2013 MEAC defensive player of the year award. At the time, they became the first 20-win team at A&T in 25 seasons.  

The team included Ahmad Abdullah, Corvin Butler, Bruce Beckford, R.J. Buck, Dominique Behohn-Tolly, Khalid King, Jean Louisme, Lamont Middleton, Adrian Powell, Waylan Siverand, Lawrence Smith, Shuan Stewart, Jeremy Underwood, Demetrius Upchurch, and Austin Witter. 

Jay Joyner, Darren Corbett and Odell Witherspoon III assisted Alexander during the season.   

SCOUTING THE MONMOUTH HAWKS 

• Monmouth went 21-13 overall and 11-9 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) last season. They reached the MAAC tournament championship game, where the Hawks lost to Saint Peter's, the 2022 NCAA tournament Cinderella darlings, 60-54. 
• But the Hawks lost all five starters from that 21-win team as they entered their first season in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). 
• In a vote, CAA head coaches predicted Monmouth would finish 10th in league play. They have struggled as they come to East Greensboro on a 12-game losing streak. 
• The Hawks rank 350 out of 352 Division I teams in field goal percentage at 38.1 percent. They are 346th in free throw shooting (.617), 352nd in scoring margin (minus-20.2), 352nd in 3-pointers made per game (4.1) and 351st in scoring offense (57.0). 
• The Hawks lost their first seven conference games by an average of 18.1 points. But on Thursday, UNC Wilmington survived the Hawks, 52-49 in Wilmington. 
• No one scored in double figures for the Hawks, as Klemen Vuga finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. The Hawks did hold the Seahawks to 39 percent shooting and out-rebounded UNCW 35-29. 
• Myles Foster, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound junior forward, leads the Hawks in scoring (12.3) and rebounding (6.6). He had only five points on 1-for-8 shooting against UNCW, but he did have a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds on 8-for-17 shooting against Hampton last Saturday. 
• Foster is the only Hawk averaging in double figures. Jack Collins, a 6-5 freshman guard, is the second-leading scorer at 9.4 points per game. However, he did have a season-high 20 points on 5-for-13 shooting against Syracuse on Dec. 12. 
• A familiar name to many North Carolinians leads Monmouth. Monmouth head coach King Rice is in his 12th season at the university. 
• Rice has a 183-187, leading the Hawks to three postseason appearances. He led Monmouth to the second round of the 2016 National Invitational Tournament (NIT). The following year the Hawks lost in the first round of the NIT. In 2020, Rice led the Hawks to the NCAA tournament, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the tournament. 
• He won MAAC coach of the year three times and led the Hawks to three MAAC regular-season championships. 
• Rice's familiarity with North Carolinians comes from his days of playing point guard for the University of North Carolina (1987-91). He helped the Tar Heels reach the Final Four in 1991.  

THE SERIES                 

• It will be the first meeting between A&T and Monmouth. 
• The Aggies will have seven first-time opponents in the CAA this season. They are 4-2 in those games thus far.