TOWSON, Md. – North Carolina A&T made two valiant rallies, one in the first half and another in the second, but the Towson Tigers made enough shots to hold off the Aggies' efforts in an 83-67 win over A&T Thursday night at TU Arena in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) men's basketball play.
The Aggies received strong efforts off the bench from senior center Jason Murphy and sophomore wing Bryson Ogletree but remain winless in the CAA, dropping to 4-17 overall and 0-8 in league play.
Ogletree had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. Murphy, who head coach Monté Ross said was a game-time decision because of an injury, posted nine points and 10 rebounds, both season highs. He also shot 4-for-6 from the floor.
A&T, whose depth has been hampered all season by injury, got 21 points off the bench. It is the most since scoring 41 at Liberty on December 14, a game where their top two scorers – Landon Glasper and Ryan Forrest – did not start.
Towson improved to 11-9 overall and 6-1 in league play behind 20 points from Tyler Tejada.
I see a lot of positives on this stat sheet," said Ross. "I don't like that we gave up 15 offensive rebounds. I like the fact that we got 16 offensive rebounds. Don't like that we gave up 20 second-chance points, but we scored 21 second-half points. We had a lot of positives in there, but just not enough to get over the hump."
Towson started fast on Thursday, taking a 28-13 lead over the game's first nine minutes. The Aggies still trailed 39-26 with 5 ½ minutes remaining in the first half before the Aggies outscored the Tigers 6-2 over the next three minutes behind back-to-back baskets from Forrest.
Caleb Embeya put Towson ahead by 11 again on a layup before Forrest scored again to send the Aggies into the locker room at halftime trailing 43-34. Forrest finished the night with 11 points, five rebounds and four steals.
In the second half, the Aggies kept fighting, and the Tigers kept resisting. Towson guard Dylan Williamson gave the Tigers a 56-44 lead 4 ½ minutes into the second half. A&T responded by scoring the next six points, capped by a Forrest steal and layup. But Towson took some steam from the run after Williamson connected on another three.
Williamson's shot helped the Tigers regain their footing again as two Nendah Tarke free throws gave them a 63-51 lead with 12 minutes remaining. Once again, the Aggies put up a fight.
Murphy tipped in his miss, followed by Glasper scoring in the paint and Ogletree scoring on a follow-up dunk to cut Towson's lead to 63-57. However, on Towson's next possession, they corralled two offensive rebounds, eventually leading to a Tarke dunk. It sparked a 7-0 run to give the Tigers a 70-57 lead with eight minutes remaining. The Aggies never recovered.
"This was probably one of our better shot-taking games in terms of taking the right shot," said Ross. "We had a few there where we probably should not have taken. But for the most part, I was really pleased with the way we moved the ball.
We set each other up and played well with one another. We didn't make a lot of shots tonight. In that situation, you have to lean on your defense, and that's what we tried to do. It just seems like when we were guarding them well, the next time down, they just take two steps back and make it."
Glasper led the Aggies with 13 points and sophomore Jahnathan Lamothe added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Efstratios Kalliontzis contributed with nine points and six rebounds. A&T heads to Stony Brook to face the Seawolves at noon on Saturday.
"I told them at halftime it's easy to fight back at home because you have your home crowd, but to do what they did on the road, in the first half, and then do it again in the second half, it speaks volumes about the heart and the tenacity of this team," Ross said.
