GREENSBORO (December 18, 2016) – North Carolina A&T men's basketball coach Jay Joyner had his team focused on rebounding effectively against a very good rebounding team in Rider Sunday afternoon at Corbett Sports Center. For the most part the preparation was effective. But with 8.3 seconds remaining, Rider's Khalil Thomas putback a Jimmie Taylor miss to lead the Broncs to a 60-59 win in the Aggies' third game in the Gotham Classic.
“This team crashes the offensive glass extremely hard like no other opponent we've faced this year just in terms of being athletic and physical and attacking the rim for offensive rebounds,” said Joyner about a Rider team averaging 13.4 offensive rebounds per game. “Sure enough that was the difference in the game.”
The Aggies (1-10), who actually outrebounded the Broncos 36-35, had a chance to answer Thomas' second-chance basket. Junior point guard Eliel Gonzalez missed an off-balance shot with 4.1 seconds. Like Thomas, Aggies graduate center Aaron Scales rebounded his teammate's miss. But instead of scoring, Scales had his game-winning attempt blocked by Thomas to send the Aggies to the heartbreaking defeat.
Gonzalez led the Aggies with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Redshirt junior Nick Reese added nine points and seven rebounds, while Scales finished with eight points and seven rebounds as the Aggies tied the Broncs on the offensive glass, 10-10.
“I really wanted this game for the guys. I wanted them to have something to hang their hats on going into the conference. It's not a good feeling coming up short over and over again, but life is not about pity it is about perseverance,” said Joyner. “I think what we're going through is temporary. I thought today was going to be a breakout game for us. We led by double digits in the second half and (full-court) pressure got us when it should not have.”
The win Joyner really wanted for his team looked promising 6 ½ minutes into the second half. Junior Davaris McGowens worked tirelessly in the paint to free himself for a turnaround jumper that gave the Aggies their biggest lead of the game at 48-35. The Broncs (8-3) then employed a full-court press that took the Aggies out of their offensive rhythm. The Aggies went the next six minutes without a point while going 0-for-7 from the floor with three turnovers as the Broncs cut the lead to two, 48-46.
When freshman Raymon Pratt lobbed a pass into the low post to Scales for an easy basket the Aggies took a 50-46 lead with 7:44 remaining, breaking the scoring drought. The Broncs finally took the lead, 52-50, on a Tyere Marshall layup with 5:14 remaining. It was the Broncs' first lead since the seven-minute mark of the first half. Approximately three minutes later, Rider took its largest lead of the game, four points, as Norville Carey's layup put his team ahead 58-54 with 2:27 remaining.
Junior guard and Aggies leading scorer Sam Hunt then stepped on the scene by knocking down his first field goal, a pull-up 3-pointer that he netted over Stevie Jordan to cut the Broncs lead to 58-57 with 1:08 to play. The Aggies then forced a big stop as Gonzalez boarded an Xavier Lundy miss. Hunt rewarded the Aggies defensive effort, by hitting his second field goal, a 15-footer that gave the Aggies a 59-58 lead with 26.5 seconds remaining.
“I've been coaching long enough to say, 'if I can hold you to 58 points I like my chances on a last second shot that you missed.' If we get that rebound, the outcome of the game probably changes. Our defense did what it was supposed to do, we just didn't get the rebound,” said Joyner who saw the Aggies zone defense hold the Broncs to 2-for-15 shooting from 3-point range.
Unfortunately, the Aggies did not get the rebound and lost their third straight close game in the Gotham Classic after disappointing finishes at UMass and at Pacific. The Aggies final game in the Gotham Classic comes 2 p.m., Thursday at Kennesaw State (3-8).
