CONWAY, SC – North Carolina A&T men's basketball persevered Thursday night at HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina. They played without 6-foot-9 starting forward Nikolaos Chitikoudis. In addition, floor leader Camian Shell came up hobbled late in the game after a made layup late in the game. Yet, the Aggies used 30 points from sophomore guard Landon Glasper and some big hoops from freshmen Uchenna Kellman-Nicholes and Jalal McKie to defeat the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 85-82.
The win improved the Aggies to 2-10 as they secured their first true road win of the season. Their other win came in Las Vegas last week against Texas Southern. The Chants dropped to 3-8.
"We have a very young team; most of these guys have never played Division I basketball, said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "But I feel like they're growing up right before our eyes. They are getting better every day, and I told the guys the wins are no surprise to us because of how we have played the last five or six games."
Against Texas Southern five days ago in Vegas, the Aggies rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half to defeat the perennial Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champions. The deficit was not as steep Thursday night, but it was still 13, 74-61, with 7:25 remaining.
But Kellman-Nicholes netted a three right in front of the Aggies bench to spark a 15-2 A&T run. A&T's spurt culminated with an incredible reverse layup from Shell, resulting in an and-one opportunity. Shell hit the free throw to tie the game at 76 with 3:49 to play.
The two teams traded the lead six times over the next three minutes, including a driving layup by Shell that gave the Aggies an 81-80 lead with 1:36 to play. After making the layup, Shell appeared to land awkwardly on his ankle, causing him to hobble around the court before leaving the game. Shell returned to the game long enough to help give the Aggies the lead for good as he found sophomore Evan Joyner underneath for a layup, putting A&T ahead 83-82 with 42 seconds remaining.
Coastal center Ginika Ojiako helped the Aggies cause by missing the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw attempt McKie rebounded. It led to Kylan Blackman fouling Glasper in the backcourt. Glasper hit both free throws to provide the Aggies an 85-82 advantage with 21 seconds to play. After Blackman missed a 3-point attempt from the top of the key, Joyner grabbed the rebound and was fouled.
However, Joyner missed the front end of his 1-and-1 as Jimmy Nichols, Jr. grabbed the rebound, giving Coastal one last chance to tie the game. But Jon Sanders's deep 3-point attempt came up short to give the Aggies their second non-conference win.
"Everybody's playing with more confidence now," said Glasper, the first Aggie to have three 30-point games in a season in 10 years. "No one is thinking or talking negatively. It's all good, and I think that's why things have been getting better for us over these last five or six games."
Kellman-Nicholes hit four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. McKie came off the bench to score 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Shell added 17 points, four assists and two steals. In addition to his 30-point outburst, Glasper had five assists and five rebounds. Ojiako had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Chants.
A&T, who came into the game at a disadvantage without Chitikoudis, trailed 10-2 over the first 2 1/2 minutes of the game. But the Aggies composed themselves and battled back to take a 26-22 lead with 9:20 remaining in the first half. McKie hit a short jumper from the elbow four minutes later to give the Aggies a 34-25 lead.
A&T maintained the lead throughout the first half as Glasper found an open Kellman-Nicholes for a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 45-40 lead at the half. After not having a halftime lead over the first 10 games, the Aggies have led at the half two straight games.
"The guys have played hard all season. What we haven't done is play smart enough to win those close, tight games," said Ross. "Tonight, we were exemplary in terms of us really putting together good possessions and making the necessary plays to win."
The Aggies have one more non-conference game before entering Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play as they travel to George Mason to face the Patriots at 2 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 30.
