In a closely contested game that saw a second-half comeback, North Carolina A&T (A&T) fell to George Washington University (GWU) 85-80 on the road.
The Aggies, now on a two-game losing streak, fought hard but couldn’t close the gap in yesterday’s matchup. Junior Landon Glasper led A&T with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals, shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 8-of-12 from the field. Sophomore Ryan Forrest added 21 points and five rebounds. The Aggies shot 50 percent from the floor overall, including 54.5 percent in the second half.
“Defensively, we weren’t sharp. We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be,” said A&T head coach Monté Ross. “A lot of that had to do with GW. They have some talented guys over there some older guys who won their matchups. They were able to put the ball in the basket and make key plays down the stretch.”
GWU dominated the paint, outscoring A&T 48-28 inside and winning the rebounding battle 38-31. Two GWU players posted double-doubles, led by Darren Buchanan Jr., who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Rafael Castro added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
GWU took its largest lead of the first half at 39-25 on a putback by Buchanan, but a steal and layup by Forrest cut the lead to 39-31. Back-to-back baskets by Nikolaos Chitikoudis brought A&T even closer, cutting the lead to 39-31 with 2:13 remaining in the half.
Trey Autry ended A&T’s run with a 3-pointer to restore the Revolutionaries’ double-digit advantage. A layup by A&T sophomore Jahnathan Lamothe made it 44-33 in favor of GWU at the break.
The Aggies came out strong in the second half. Junior point guard Camian Shell opened the scoring with a jump shot, followed by a 3-pointer from Lamothe. A steal by Will Felton led to a Lamothe fast-break layup, and A&T trimmed GWU’s lead to 44-41 within the first 75 seconds of the half. A Lamothe basket brought the Aggies within one at 51-50 with 15 minutes remaining.
A&T took its first lead since the 16:39 mark of the first half when Shell converted a layup and a free throw, giving the Aggies a 53-51 advantage. The Aggies’ lead grew to as many as three points at 60-57 on a Lamothe jump shot in the paint with 11 minutes to play.
Over the next six minutes, the two teams traded five lead changes and three ties. A&T’s final lead came at 66-65, when Chitikoudis scored a layup. However, two Buchanan free throws gave GWU a 67-66 lead and sparked a 12-0 run that extended the Revolutionaries’ lead to 77-66 with 1:39 remaining.
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“I thought our guys played their hearts out,” Ross said. “They kept fighting, kept battling. That’s all I could ask for. They got separated toward the end, but I’m proud of how we kept fighting.”
A&T returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 17, when it travels to Charleston, South Carolina, to face The Citadel at 2 p.m. from McAlister Field House. Last season, the Aggies fell to The Citadel 85-68, finishing the year 7-25. A win on Sunday could provide momentum heading into their season home opener against Morgan State on Nov. 20.