TOWSON, Md. – Interim head coach Phillip Shumpert got the effort he has been looking for recently from his North Carolina A&T men's basketball program. Unfortunately, the improved play still came in defeat and after, the Aggies had to rally from a large deficit.
The Towson Tigers held off the Aggies rally in an 87-75 win at SECU Arena on Saturday. The final score does not indicate just how close the Aggies came to pulling off a stunning comeback after the Tigers took a 20-2 lead over the game's first six minutes.
Eleven minutes after the Aggies horrific start, redshirt freshman Duncan Powell rebounded his miss and put it back to cut the Tigers lead to 45-35. But a 3-pointer by Towson's Ryan Conway gave the Tigers a 48-35 halftime lead. Despite Conway's three to close the first half, the Aggies continued to chop into the Tigers lead in the second half.
Powell, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, cut the Tigers lead to 53-49 five minutes into the second half. But Towson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push their lead by to double figures. But the Aggies kept charging. They answered the Tigers run with a 7-0 run capped by an Austin Johnson jump shot to get to within three, 59-56, with 10:42 to play.
However, Towson found a way to pull away again, outscoring the Aggies 11-4 over the next four minutes to push the lead back to 10 at 70-60. But 3-pointers from sophomores Kam Woods and Love Bettis, in addition to two Woods free throws, cut the lead to two, 70-68, with six minutes to play.
Cameron Holden put Towson ahead by four with a layup before two Johnson free throws got the Aggies back to within two. A&T had several opportunities from there to tie the game or take the lead. But on a missed 3-pointer by Towson's Nygal Russell, Woods grabbed the rebound and headed toward the other end in transition.
But referees called Woods for traveling after gathering the rebound to give Towson the ball back. But following a Demetric Horton steal, Woods missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Aggies the lead.
"I'm proud of those guys for battling back from being down 20-2 to make it a two-point game," said Shumpert. "We had a shot to take the lead and just couldn't hit it. But I commend my guys for fighting and sharing the basketball tonight.
The score was 20-2 because we weren't sharing the basketball, and no one was guarding. But for our guys to adjust and fight back like that was tremendous for us."
After Woods missed the three, Towson's Nicolas Timberlake made his three to push Towson's lead to 75-70 with 4:10 remaining. Two Woods free throws cut it to three before the Tigers scored six straight points to take an 81-72 lead.
Horton, who finished with 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting from three, knocked down a three to cut Towson's lead to 81-75 with 1:08 to play. But the Tigers went 6-for-6 from the line to clinch the win.
The Aggies have lost five of six to drop to 12-17 overall and 7-9 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Towson is 19-10 overall and 11-5 in the league. Woods added 15 points, and Tyrese Elliott came off the bench to score 11. Timberlake led Towson with 26 points as the Tigers outrebounded the Aggies 54-36, led by Charles Thompson's 15 points and 17 rebounds.
The Aggies have two regular-season games remaining, both at home, starting with Delaware on Thursday, February 23, at 7 p.m. They close with HBCU rival Hampton on February 25.
"We have to push the reset button," said Shumpert. "We have two home games left, and if we give this kind of effort, I like our chances. We're shorthanded, but we're going to keep fighting."
