Box Score
Johnson leads Aggies with 14 points

BERKELEY, Calif., November 24, 2008  -- North Carolina A&T loves to use its pressure defense to wear down the opponent throughout the game. On Monday night, the Aggies press didn’t bother California enough.

The Bears committed just seven turnovers and used those extra shot opportunities to shoot 48.3 percent from the field to defeat the Aggies 82-47 in men’s basketball action from Haas Pavilion.

“We struggled to score tonight,’’ said head coach Jerry Eaves. “We just couldn't compete tonight. I didn't know if it was going to hit us at UNLV or today. It showed to today. We'll have some time off before our next game, and I think we'll look better."

The Aggies were led by junior forward Robert Johnson who came back after missing Saturday’s game with ankle injury to score 14 points and grab six rebounds. Sophomore forward Thomas Coleman added 10 points and eight rebounds. Jerome Randle led Cal with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

The Aggies shot a season low 33.3 percent in the game. The Aggies missed 14 of their first 18 shots, but still trailed just 14-9 after two Dwane Joshua free throws. Cal began to take advantage of the Aggies missed shots midway through the first half. A Randle 3-pointer sparked a 12-4 run to give the Bears a 26-13 lead with 5:32 remaining in the first half.

After taking a 40-23 lead into the locker room, Randle hit another three with 16:25 remaining in the game to go up 49-27 to help the Bears pull away for good.

“(Randle) is a great player and does a good job of running the floor,” said Eaves. “He takes selective but smart shots. He was the factor in breaking the press. Our big men did a good job of stepping up.”

The Aggies we’ll continue play in the Global Sports Classic when they face Texas Pan-American at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas Friday at 6:30 p.m., eastern time.