GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T Aggies got the shot they wanted from the player they wanted with the game on the line, but they did not get the result they wanted in a 69-64 loss to the Elon Phoenix Thursday night in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) men's basketball play at Corbett Sports Center.
A&T redshirt freshman and leading scorer Lewis Walker took a pass from junior Trent Middleton, Jr. and launched an open 3-pointer from the corner near the Aggies' bench, but the shot bounced off the back of the rim, giving Elon the ball back with 2.6 seconds remaining in the game.
The loss drops A&T to 7-8 overall and 0-4 in CAA play. Elon improved to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in league play.
"What you want to do is make sure you get a good shot," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "And I thought we got a good shot. And to be honest with you, with this group, such a young group, not having a timeout at the end, we got our best scorer open for a three look to tie the game. I was pleased with that. A lot of times, when you have a young group, you know, they can get like Helter Skelter. I didn't think they panicked."
In addition to getting the shot they wanted, the Aggies also got the defense they wanted. They came into the game surrendering 84.3 points per game in conference play, with opponents shooting 49.1 percent against A&T. Meanwhile, Elon went into the game as the highest-scoring team in the conference at 86.7 per game while shooting 47.9 percent in conference play. But the Aggies held the Phoenix to 40 percent shooting.
"We didn't shoot the ball well tonight," said Ross about an Aggies team that shot 39.1 percent against the Phoenix on Thursday. "But we gave ourselves a chance to win because of our defense. That's one of the constant things that I always say to the guys. We're a team that can score the basketball, but there are going to be nights when your shots don't go in. On those nights, you have to be able to rely on your defense."
Things did not look promising for the Aggies offense or defense early. CAA leading scorer Chandler Cuthrell made two free throws to give the Phoenix a 21-7 lead nine minutes into the game. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Elon maintained its 14-point advantage, 23-9, on a Bryson Cokley layup. A&T turned to seldom-used guard Mujahiid Burton for a boost, and he gave it to them.
Burton took a pass from junior Bryson Ogletree with the shot clock running down and netted the first of his career-high five made 3-pointers to cut Elon's lead to 25-16. It was a part of a 17-4 spurt for the Aggies that ended with Zamoku Weluche-Ume catching a lob pass from Burton for a dunk to cut Elon's advantage to 27-26, leading to an Elon timeout with 3:09 remaining in the first half.
Burton led the Aggies with a career-high 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting from 3-point range. Burton's 21 minutes played are the most minutes he has played since playing 22 minutes at Morgan State on November 18. After a Weluche-Ume putback his miss to tie the game at 30-30, Cokley ended the first half with a 3-pointer to give Elon a three-point advantage at the half.
Over the first 9 ½ minutes of the second half, Elon built its lead to nine at 56-47. The Phoenix led by seven as late as 2:20 remaining in the ball game before a Burton three sliced that lead to four and a dunk from Weluche-Ume got the Aggies to within two, 66-64, with 84 seconds remaining. After a missed three from the Phoenix, the Aggies tried to tie the game or take the lead, but had to rush a shot with the shot clock winding down.
It forced the Aggies to foul with 18 seconds remaining. But Elon's Ja'juan Carr made only one of two free throws, leading to Walker's last-second game-tying attempt.
Walker scored six points, marking the first time in 14 games played that he failed to score in double figures. Weluche-Ume recorded his second double-double in three games with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. He also added four assists. Cuthrell led the Phoenix with 22 points and seven rebounds.
A&T will get a week off from competition before traveling to William & Mary to face the Tribe at 7 p.m., Thursday, January 15, at Kaplan Arena.
