LYNCHBURG, Va. – Two days after their worst loss of the season, North Carolina A&T men's basketball returned to action against one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the nation and made some decisive corrective steps despite an 83-74 loss to the Liberty Flames Saturday at Liberty Arena.
The Aggies scored 74 points and shot 9-for-22 from 3-point range against the fifth-best defense in the country but dropped to 3-8 on the season. Unfortunately, the Flames offense did show up, shooting 50 percent from the floor and outscoring the Aggies 48-24 in the paint as they won their seventh straight to improve to 10-1 on the season.
Liberty came into the game, shooting 50 percent from the floor for the season.
"They have a lot of good players," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "They're older. They're experienced. You can tell by the way they were running their offense. We tried to impose our will on them defensively, but it didn't have much of an effect."
A&T was able to keep the game competitive despite Liberty's offensive efficiency. The Aggies trailed 17-8 over the game's first eight minutes. But with 5:52 remaining in the first half, sophomore guard Ryan Forrest hit a mid-range jumper to cut Liberty's lead to 26-24.
The Flames went on a 7-2 run to take a seven-point advantage before a Forrest three was followed by a transition 3-pointer from junior guard Landon Glasper to bring the Aggies to within one, 33-32, with three minutes to play in the first half.
After Flames forward Zach Cleveland hit a 3-pointer, the Aggies used a second chance opportunity to cut the lead to one again as freshman center Efstratios Kalliontzis grabbed an offense rebound and tossed a pass to Glasper, who knocked down another three.
A&T then took the lead as Glasper dribbled around his back, swooped to the basket, switched hands while in the air, and laid up the ball to give the Aggies a 37-36 lead with 1:08 remaining in the first half.
A Jayvon Maughmer 3-pointer gave the Flames a 39-37 halftime lead. The Aggies were within two despite the Flames shooting 55.2 percent in the first half.
"I told the guys I was proud of the rumble," said Ross. "I thought we rumbled. I thought we fought. We hung in there."
Ross's Aggies had to show even more fortitude after falling behind 71-55 with nine minutes to play. The Aggies put together an 11-4 run capped by a transition 3-pointer from Jalal McKie to cut the Flames' lead to nine with 5:18 remaining. But the Aggies could not get any closer than nine for the remainder of the game.
"With these young guys, we have to keep fighting," said Ross. "We have to keep putting them in situations like this so that they understand what it takes and how to maneuver through certain situations. It wasn't the result we wanted, but we were committed to the process without being emotionally attached to the result."
Sophomore guard Jahnathan Lamothe secured his second straight double-double as he posted 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Lamothe is the first Aggie to have consecutive double-doubles since Kameron Langley during the 2020-21 season. Forrest finished with 21 points and Glasper added 20. Sophomore forward Nikolaos Chitikoudis finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Owen Aquino led the Flames with 28 points and 10 rebounds. A&T returns to action on Tuesday as the Aggies host Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. from Corbett Sports Center.
