BUFFALO, NY – A controversial call in the eyes of the North Carolina A&T men's basketball program defined the ending of a ballgame that saw the Buffalo Bulls secure an 82-81 win over the Aggies in a non-conference contest at Alumni Arena on Monday.
The Aggies dropped to 3-3 on the season after Buffalo's Tyson Dunn made two free throws with eight seconds remaining in the game. A desperation 3-point attempt by A&T junior guard Landon Glasper missed as the Bulls improved to 4-3.
How Dunn got to the foul line was a touchy subject for A&T. The Aggies led 81-77, Dunn netted a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to cut A&T's lead to one. After the three, Noah Batchelor fouled Aggies sophomore Jahnathan Lamothe, placing him on the line with 11 seconds on the clock.
Lamothe missed the front end of the 1-and-1, giving the Bulls possession thanks to a Bachelor rebound. The Aggies pressured the ball with only seconds remaining and clinging to a one-point advantage. However, the officials whistled A&T sophomore guard Ryan Forrest for getting a little too physical, asserting those on the A&T bench to vehemently disagree.
Yet Dunn, a 57.9 percent free throw shooter coming into the game, converted both like he was a 90 percent shooter as the Bulls gained an 82-81 advantage. It left Glasper with the long heave.
"I don't take comfort in excuses and blaming referees," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "Blaming officials is an excuse I'm not going to take comfort in. I'm really proud of these guys in the way that they fought, in the way that we fought. We just came up a little short."
Glasper led the Aggies with a season-best 29 points on 6-for-13 shooting from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Lamothe had his first career collegiate double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He added six assists and four steals to his totals.
Buffalo led by as many as nine, including a 35-26 lead with 5 ½ minutes remaining in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Glasper and sophomore guard Jalal McKie quickly brought the Aggies to within three. The Bulls scored the next three points to push their lead to six before the Aggies posted four straight points to get to within two at 38-36 with 2 ½ minutes remaining in the first half.
Batchelor gave the Bulls a four-point lead on a jumper in the paint. Junior point guard Camian Shell responded with a 3-pointer before Ryan Sabol completed a 3-point play to give the Bulls a 43-39 lead. However, over the final 50 seconds of the first half, Glasper knocked down a jump shot, and Lamothe followed his miss to send the game into halftime tied at 43-43.
In the second half, the Aggies led by as many as six, but the Bulls tied the game at 67 with 9:08 remaining. A&T scored the next five points to take a five-point advantage. The Aggies still had a five-point advantage as late as 3:41 remaining in the game when Glasper scored a jumper to give A&T a 78-73 lead.
Buffalo put together a 4-0 run to cut A&T's lead to one before sophomore Ryan Forrest scored for A&T to put the Aggies ahead 80-77 with 2:25 remaining. Forrest then hit one of two free throws to take a four-point lead, setting up the game's late-game theatrics.
"There are some things we have to do," said Ross. "That's why I told the guys -- forget all of that (the officiating). I have to look at myself, you have to look at yourselves, and we've got to look at each other and find out what could we have done better that would have allowed us to come out on top tonight."
The Aggies are back in action after Thanksgiving with a Friday evening game at East Carolina on November 29. The tip is at 5:30 p.m.
