DURHAM, NC – North Carolina Central University (NCCU) called a timeout following an emphatic baseline dunk from North Carolina A&T redshirt sophomore forward Zamoku Weluche-Ume to put A&T ahead by six points midway through the second half of the latest edition of the A&T/NCCU men's basketball rivalry.
The NCCU Eagles came out of the timeout and ran an excellent set to score on a layup. A steal and a fastbreak layup followed before the A&T Aggies put the clamps on their archrivals. The Aggies held the Eagles without a field goal over the final 7 ½ minutes of action on Saturday evening at McDougald-McLendon Arena to defeat NCCU 69-54 in a non-conference men's basketball tilt.
The Aggies improved to 4-3 on the season after beating NCCU for the fourth time in the last five meetings between the longtime adversaries. Redshirt freshman Lewis Walker led the Aggies by posting his first career double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. His 14 rebounds are a career-high.
"The great thing about Lewis is he just doesn't do it for Central versus A&T," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "He brings it every single day in practice. That's just the way he plays. If you practice a certain way, it just becomes second nature when the game comes. And that's the way he is. He's not one of the guys who tries to turn it on when game time comes. That's why he's so good. That's why he's so efficient. He practices at game speed."
Once NCCU turned cold, Lewis Walker and his Aggie teammates started to cook. After Weluche-Ume's dunk, the Aggies led 52-46. After the NCCU timeout, NCCU's Khouri Carvey curled off a screen and found himself open underneath the basket for a layup. NCCU guard Gage Lattimore's transition basket cut A&T's lead to two.
A&T spent the next six minutes of game action going 10-for-11 from the free throw line. In between all the free throws, Lewis Walker hit a short jumper and drove to the basket for another two points. By the time A&T junior point guard Trent Middelton Jr. splashed a 3-pointer, the Aggies held a 69-50 lead with 55 seconds to play.
NCCU went 0-for-12 over the final 7 ½ minutes of the game and shot 4-for-26 in the second half, including 0-for-9 from 3-point range. NCCU's leading scorer, Lattimore, who came into the game averaging 20.6 points per game, was held to nine points on 4-for-15 shooting.
"We finally played defensively, the way I know that we are capable of playing," said Ross. "That's the type of defense we have to keep playing if we want to continue to be successful."
The Aggies did not have it as easy in the first half and trailed 35-26 at halftime. Part of it stemmed from not getting shot opportunities because of turnovers. A&T turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, resulting in the Eagles having a 9-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The other factor became free throw shooting as the Aggies went 4-for-9 from the line in the first half.
"Give Central credit. They really did a great job of pressuring the ball," said Ross. "They really did a great job of pressuring the ball. We were starting our offense a step across halfcourt. We weren't efficient. What we did was make a little adjustment at halftime to help us start our offense a little closer to the basket. As a result, we were able to get some more quality looks."
Ross also got a quality player back in his lineup. A&T's leading scorer, Lureon Walker, returned to action after missing three straight games and finished with 13 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the foul line. Sophomore center Will Felton logged some valuable minutes, coming off the bench to score nine points and grab seven rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Middleton made all five of his free throw attempts and went 3-for-6 from 3-point range to finish with 14 points. He added six rebounds and four assists to his totals.
"We had so many self-inflicted wounds," Ross said about Saturday's first half. "We were just killing ourselves. I told the guys that what we have to do is start playing offense. We haven't started playing offense. We were sort of shellshocked as to what was going on out there.
I was pleased that we were able to come out and make a run right away in the second half. I think that sends a message to the other team. Okay, maybe that first half was an aberration. This is the real team we're facing."
NCCU got 12 points, seven steals, three rebounds, and three assists from Dionte Johnson, but dropped to 3-8 on the season. The Aggies will play their fourth Division I HBCU of the young season when they go back to Durham to face another historic and storied rival in the Howard University Bison from Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
