Aggies Fall To South Carolina Upstate
SPARTANBURG, S.C.—The North Carolina A&T State men’s basketball made another gallant effort without their leading scorer and rebounder in senior Bruce Beckford in a 78-68 loss to USC Upstate at the Hodge Center on Tuesday night.
There is no question they need him back. Without Beckford’s presence, the Aggies still had their chances. They trailed most of the game, but never by double figures in the second half and they cut Upstate’s lead to one several times and even tied it once.
But they never could come up with the key stop or the key basket to overtake the Spartans (6-11) as they outrebounded the Aggies 42-28 and shot 51-percent from the floor and 52-percent from 3-point range.
Khary Doby’s 17-point total matched a career he set on Nov. 24, 2013 at Georgia Tech. Ahmad Abdullah had 11 points, five assists and no turnovers.
Sam Hunt was able to hit some big shots for the Aggies in the clutch including a 3-pointer to tie the game at 65 with 3:07 remaining in the game.
Redshirt sophomore James Whitaker had a chance to keep the Aggies in the game as he grabbed an offensive board. But his layup rimmed which led to a transition layup for Deion Holmes as the Spartans increased their lead to 75-68 with 51 seconds remaining.
Freshman Mike Cunningham led the Spartans with 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting from three. Michael Buchanan finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Aggies and the Savannah State Tigers tip at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
For complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
Rattlers rally past Savannah State
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Justin Ravenal’s three-pointer with just over a minute left helped lift the Florida A&M Men’s Basketball team to a 61-58 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over visiting Savannah State at The Al Lawson Center Tuesday night.
Ravenal’s third triple of the game put FAMU (5-10, 1-1 in MEAC) ahead for good at 59-56 with 1:06 left, then after Savannah State’s Teslim Idris hit a jumper with 1.5 seconds left for a 59-58 count, the Tigers were forced to foul, sending FAMU’s Malcolm Bernard to the foul line with 0.5 seconds left.
Bernard sank both free throws for a 61-58, and the Tigers barely inbounded the ball for a shot as time expired.
Craig Bowman led FAMU with 15 points, adding seven rebounds, Malcolm Bernard finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Ravenal ended up with 13 points, including all three FAMU three-pointers.
Troyce Manassa led the visiting Tigers with 21 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while Teslim Idris added 10 points and Isaiah Felder finished with nine points, both hitting a pair of three-pointers.
The Rattlers continue conference play on the road this weekend at Norfolk State (Saturday) and Hampton University (Monday).
For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com or www.ssuathletics.com