HIGH POINT, N.C. – If the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team let slip away its first victory of the season because of a lack of rebounding or getting beat in the paint, it would have gone according to the way the 2023-24 season has played out thus far. But High Point University (HPU) defeated the Aggies 75-62, thanks partly to A&T not taking care of the basketball late.
Not turning the ball over has been a strength for the undersized Aggies. A&T came into the game. The Aggies went into the game averaging only 9.7 turnovers per game, tops in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). But the Aggies turned the ball eight times in the second half, five times over the final eight minutes, allowing the Panthers to build a bigger lead late into the ballgame.
"I thought we might have run out of gas toward the end," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "We had some uncharacteristic plays that happened that we normally don't see. But that's on me. I have to put these guys in a better position to execute down the stretch in those situations. But tonight was good for us because we got an opportunity to understand we have to become better at closing."
HPU seven-footer Juslin Bodo Bodo picked up his fourth foul with 15:22 remaining in the game and the Panthers leading 43-41. The Aggies took immediate advantage of Bodo Bodo's absence. A&T outscored the Panthers 10-2 over the next 4 1/2 minutes to take a 51-45 lead as Landon Glasper capped off the run with an interception of a Duke Miles pass that he turned into a transition layup.
After two Kimani Hamilton free throws, junior Kyle Duke helped the Aggies maintain their six-point lead when he took a pass from Camian Shell and scored on a layup to give A&T a 53-47 lead with 9:07 to play. But over the next 3:07 of action, the Panthers outscored the Aggies 12-0 to take a 59-53 lead with six minutes remaining.
After a Nikolaos Chitikoudis free throw, Hamilton hit a 3-pointer, and Miles scored four straight points to put the Panthers ahead 66-54 with 4:31 remaining. The Aggies never got the lead under double figures again.
Glasper led A&T with 20 points despite the sharpshooter attempting only two 3-pointers (0-for-2). Shell secured his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 assists. Three other Aggies scored in double figures, including Jeremy Robinson (11), Chitikoudis (10) and Duke (10).
"These guys are growing right before our eyes," said Ross. "Unfortunately, we have to take our lumps. But we are gaining valuable experience right now, and tonight shows we are starting to see it come together. We are starting to see the fruits of our labor even though we didn't finish it off. I thought for about 34 minutes of this game tonight we were the better team."
Duke gave the Aggies a 29-28 lead with 4:14 remaining in the first half. The two teams went back and forth as Robinson gave the Aggies the lead again at 31-30 with a strong post move inside against taller competition. But HPU scored four straight points to lead 34-31 at halftime. Miles led the Panthers with 25 points, and Hamilton added 22 points and 11 rebounds.
