NORTH CAROLINA A&T (5-8) at CSU Bakersfield (5-10)
Date: December 30, 2012
Time: 7 p.m., Eastern
Facility: Icardo Center
Series: First Meeting
Live Webstream: N/A

PROBABLE STARTERS:
G Lamont Middleton (6-3 Jr., 13.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.4 apg); G Jean Louisme (6-4 Sr., 10.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 apg); F Austin Witter (6-8 Sr., 6.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.7 bpg); F Adrian Powell (6-6 Sr, 11.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.8 spg); C Bruce Beckford (6-7 Fr., 6.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

CHIT CHAT:  North Carolina A&T will try to recover from a game where Texas Tech had its way on the glass in an 85-74 win. The Red Raiders earned 27-rebound advantage on the glass against the Aggies. The Aggies are just 1-7 when they are outrebounded, so it will be vital that they have a better time on the boards against CSU Bakersfield. The Aggies have used the scoring of Adrian Powell, Jean Louisme and Lamont Middleton to take care of the offense, while senior Austin Witter has controlled things defensively. Witter has at least two blocks in his last seven games for A&T, while fellow senior Adrian Powell has scored in double figures in his last five games. The Aggies and the Roadrunners will be playing against one another for the first time. The Runners are the sixth time this season, the Aggies have faced for the first time in school history.  

From the coach:  
"This will be another team trying to get well against us. We have to be prepared for the challenge they're going to present to us. This game will say a lot about our team and how we perform on one day's rest because that is our MEAC schedule looks with the Saturday/Monday games."
North Carolina A&T head coach Cy Alexander on CSU Bakersfield

It's A "Lock": North Carolina A&T is solid when it is shooting the ball better than its opponent. The Aggies are 5-1 this season when they shoot the ball better than their foe. But they are 0-7 when their opponent shoots better. The Aggies are hoping to shoot better than 50 percent for just the third time this season.   

The Opponent:  CSU Bakersfield will be playing its fifth game in the last 11 days,

including a game played Saturday night against Loyola Marymount. The Runners lost to the Loyola Marymount 73-66. It was their fourth loss in the last five games. The Runners have four players averaging in double figures led by Stephon Carter, who is averaging 15.9 points per game. Carter is also an 80 percent free throw shooter. As a team, the Runners are shooting 72.6 percent from the free throw line, led by Tyrone White who shoots 90.5 percent from the line.

 Potential Gameday Star power: North Carolina A&T: Junior guard Lamont Middleton is becoming more and more familiar with North Carolina A&T head coach Cy Alexander's offensive system. He came in with the reputation of being an aggressive scorer offensively, but now has taken on the role of key contributor. He has 14 assists in his last two games, but still leads the Aggies in scoring at 13.3 points per game. CSU Bakersfield:  Britton Williams takes care of the basketball when he is in the game for the Runners. Williams leads the team with 57 assists this season, but he has turned the ball over just 22 times. Williams averages 22.1 minutes per game, so he will play a vital role in distributing and taking care of the ball.

The Magic Number For A&T: 6: The Aggies are hoping to enter 2013 with six non-conference wins.  Six wins heading into 2013 will help the Aggies achieve one of their goals - finishing better than .500.

FROM THE NOTES
North Carolina A&T guard Jean Louisme is slowly becoming the shooter the Aggies thought he was when they signed him out of Florida State College. Louisme is averaging 16.3 points over his last three games and he is 9-for-21 from 3-point range over that same span. Also in his last three games, Louisme has either surpassed or tied his career high. The last time out, he had 18 against Texas Tech.