BLACKSBURG, Va. – North Carolina A&T and Virginia Tech entered Thursday night's non-conference men's basketball contest at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum, looking to end lengthy losing streaks. The Virginia Tech Hokies halted their six-game losing streak with length, athleticism and depth in a 95-67 win over the Aggies.
The loss marked A&T's fifth straight, dropping the Aggies to 3-7 on the season despite a 14-point, 11-rebound effort from sophomore Jahnathan Lamothe. It marked his second double-double of the season. Meanwhile, the Hokies used a 48-30 advantage in rebounding to end a six-game losing streak and approve to 4-6 overall.
"This was a difficult game for a couple of our guys because of their athleticism, because of their speed, because of their length," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "A lot of it tonight had to do with them, and that was one of the things that concerned me coming into this game – their length and athleticism at certain positions."
Tech's quickness to the ball after it came off the rim showed up early as the Hokies scored the first 10 second-chance points of the game. Yet, the Aggies kept the game close thanks to a hot shooting hand from junior Landon Glasper. Glasper connected on his first three 3-pointers and added an assist over the game's first eight minutes to get the Aggies to within four at 20-16.
Ninety seconds later, Glasper's floater in the lane cut the Hokies lead to 23-18. But Rodney Brown, Jr. netted a three, followed by a corner three from College of Charleston transfer Ben Burnham, quickly gave the Hokies a double-digit lead. Tech outscored the Aggies 29-14 over the final 10 ½ minutes of the first half to take a 52-32 lead into the locker room.
A more aggressive A&T team offensively emerged from halftime as the Aggies routinely found themselves at the free throw line to open the second half.
A&T went 5-for-6 from the free throw line over the first four minutes of half No. 2. Sophomore forward Nikolaos Chitikoudis added a transition layup, and Lamothe followed with a putback to put the Aggies to within 13 at 54-41. But the next four minutes of the second half belonged to Tech. Tech became blistering hot from the corner three near its bench and outscored the Aggies 18-2 to take a 72-43 lead with 12 ½ minutes remaining in the game.
"I thought their second-chance opportunities really hurt us, particularly when we got back in the ballgame in the second half," said Ross.
Five Hokies scored in double figures. Three of those players were non-starters. Ben Hammond led the reserves and the team in scoring with 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field, 3-for-3 shooting from three and 2-for-2 from the line. Tech outscored A&T 55-5 in bench points.
"We have to get some guys healthy. That will help," said Ross about A&T's bench production.
Glasper led A&T with 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting from 3-point range. Sophomore Ryan Forrest added 14 points, and Chitikoudis contributed 13 points and six rebounds. The Aggies return to action on Saturday, December 14 when they head to Lynchburg, Va., to face the Liberty Flames.
Ross said he welcomes the quick turnaround because it will help prepare the Aggies for conference play. After all, Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) conference games are typically scheduled for Thursdays and Saturdays.
