GREENSBORO – It was shaping up to be a comeback to cherish for the North Carolina A&T men's basketball team Monday night. There were still parts of the rally to embrace even though the result wasn't what the Aggies wanted.

By the end of the nationally televised matchup, Hampton held on for a 74-73 victory in front of a season-high crowd of 4,218 at Corbett Sports Center.

"I can't fault the passion, the effort these guys play with every single night," A&T coach Monté Ross said. "It's a joy to coach them every day. Every night, they just lay it out there on the line. If we keep doing that, we'll get the Ws that we so desperately desire."

Landon Glasper's 21 points and Ryan Forrest's 20 paced the Aggies (4-16, 0-7 Coastal Athletic Association). Jahnathan Lamothe provided 13 points and 17 rebounds and Camian Shell posted 12 points. Lamothe recorded his fifth double-double of the season, tying Nikolaos Chitikoudis for the team lead. Hampton (10-9, 3-4) swept the season series from A&T.

"The stakes of just trying to get a W in the CAA right now," Ross said. "We've come close. We've battled, rumbled. We've just got to keep that same type of mentality. We'll break through."

It turns out that the 16-point deficit from early in the second half was just too much for the Aggies. Glasper's two free throws tied the game with 18 seconds remaining.

A&T had two fouls to give and used those as time shaved off the clock before the Pirates attacked on their last possession and drew a foul. Hampton's Xzavier Long made the first of two free throw attempts with 2.4 seconds on the clock. The Aggies collected the rebound after the miss, but Forrest's launch from around midcourt fell short.

It was another full effort from the Aggies.

"That's what I tell our guys: We signed up for 40 (minutes)," Ross said. "So we're going to play until that buzzer goes (off). Once that tip-off, we're committed to 40 minutes."

The Aggies battled back to within 57-51 with less than 11 minutes to play. They didn't get closer until Efstratios Kalliontzis' lay-in at the 4:06 mark made it 68-63.

Forrest drained a three to put the Aggies within 71-68 with 1:59 to play.

Shell converted a 3-point play, aided by a goaltending call, to cut the gap to 73-71 with 1:08 to play. That sent the crowd into a frenzy and soon chants of "De-fense! De-fense!" roared in the building.

"I'd like to thank the fans, the students specifically," Ross said. "That was a truly raucous crowd. I'm just sorry we couldn't pull through."

Glasper drained three threes in the first eight minutes for a 15-6 lead. He hit four of his five 3-point baskets in the first half. The Aggies played from in front until Hampton went up 23-22 and kept it going as part of a 17-2 run.

A&T had only two points over a seven-minute stretch. The Pirates led 39-29 at halftime.

Part of the comeback came from the Aggies locking in better on Hampton's perimeter shooters. The Pirates were 1-for-9 on second-half 3-point attempts. The Aggies used just two players off the bench as injury issues have limited depth. Hampton held a 39-0 advantage in bench scoring.

"Sometimes it's hard to go next-man-up when there's no man there," Ross said. "We've run into some bad luck here with injuries, but I won't allow these guys to make any excuses."

Lamothe, a 6-foot-4 guard, provided a boost on the boards because the Aggies played their second full game without Chitikoudis, the team's top rebounder, who's out with an injury.

"We've asked guys to step up, especially our guards, and to rebound the basketball," Ross said. "Seventeen rebounds is just outstanding. It's a testament to his work ethic and trying to help us wherever he can."

NOTES: The Aggies are one of four teams nationally, with two players averaging more than 18 points per game, with Forrest at 19.2 and Glasper at 18.3. … A&T has the best number in the CAA regarding ball security, with 9.8 turnovers per game. The Aggies had nine on Monday night, though Hampton had just four. A&T has one nationally-televised game remaining when the Aggies face Campbell in Buies Creek on Monday, February 10 on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m.