HAMPTON, Va. – North Carolina A&T saw a double-digit second-half lead disappear not so much from the adjustments the Hampton Pirates made Tuesday night but from how differently the Aggies played once they gained the advantage.
In the renewing of their longtime rivalry on Tuesday, the Coastal Athletic Association's (CAA) two HBCUs battled in each team's conference opener that saw the Pirates rally from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat A&T 82-71 at the Convocation Center.
The Aggies lost their third straight to drop to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in the CAA despite 15 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore forward Nikolaos Chitikoudis. It marked Chitikoudis's second career double-double. Meanwhile, the Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak to the Aggies to improve to 4-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
"We got selfish," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "We stopped moving the basketball the way we did in the first half. When you do that, you get beat. And then, on the opposite end, we didn't get a stop at all."
A&T led for the final 13 minutes of the first half, including taking a 40-30 lead on a Camian Shell layup with 1:32 remaining in the half. Hampton scored four straight points after Shell's basket before the Aggies took a 42-34 halftime lead on a Chitikoudis layup. The Aggies shot 63 percent (17-27) in the first half.
Chitikoudis opened the second half with a strong move to the rim, resulting in a dunk to put the Aggies ahead by 10. That lead grew to 11 over the next four minutes when Shell found a wide-open Jahnathan Lamothe in the corner for a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 51-40 lead.
After a basket from Hampton's Noah Farrakhan, the Aggies pushed the lead back to 11, 52-43 with 15:14 remaining in the game, as Chitikoudis found junior guard Landon Glasper open for a jump shot. Hampton methodically took A&T's dwindled A&T's advantage from there.
Over the next 8 ½ minutes, the Pirates outscored A&T 24-9 to take a 64-60 lead. The run included three 3-pointers and two 3-point plays from the Pirates. A&T assisted in the Pirates' spurt by going 5-for-10 from the free throw line over those 8 ½ minutes.
A&T never truly recovered from there. When Xzavier Long found George Beale Jr. open for a layup, the Pirates increased their lead to 74-65 with two minutes remaining in the game. Glasper led the Aggies with 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Sophomore guard Ryan Forrest added 15 points, and Shell scored in double figures with 12 points. Beale led the Pirates with 25 points.
Uncharacteristically, the Aggies committed 15 turnovers on Friday. It marked the first time the Aggies have had 15 or more turnovers in a game since committing 16 against Jackson State in Las Vegas on December 17, 2023.
"We have to prepare for our next practice," said Ross. "The thing for us is, what does our next practice look like? Never mind Saturday's game – we have to get things right within ourselves right now. We're not right, right now. That's why our focus is on our next practice and being better than we were tonight."
A&T will host Gate City Division I rival UNC Greensboro on Saturday, December 7 at 2 p.m. from Corbett Sports Center.
