Post by AggieMike on Dec 17, 2006 4:11:17 GMT -5
Aggies lose the lead, lose the game
by Mike McCray
Sports Editor
December 17, 2006
In 1983, the North Carolina State WolfPack went into The Pit and won a national championship on a Lorenzo Charles dunk at the buzzer, knocking off the heavily favored Houston Cougars, led by future NBA legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
The moment is one of the most memorable in all of college basketball.
Nothing that dramatic happend Saturday as the North Carolina A&T Aggies (3-6, 0-1 MEAC) failed to pull a huge upset in The Pit falling to New Mexico 86-78.
None of the current Aggies were born during that 1983 game and the New Mexico Lobos (6-2) are hardly as fearsome as "Phi Slamma Jamma" was then but the fact remains that the Aggies missed out on an opportunity to make a statement on their four-game west coast road trip.
"We have to learn when it's winning time on the road, win the game." said head coach Jerry Eaves, who wasn't looking for someone to hug like Jim Valvano was after the Aggies loss at The Pit.
The Aggies went into halftime with a 37-33 lead and led by as many as five but Lobos pressure and mistakes saw the Aggies lose the lead and the game. "It was a good game that we could have won if we don't make mistakes down the stretch," said Eaves.
Former McDonald's All-American J.R. Giddens was benched for the first half and came into the game in the second half scoring eight points off bench as the Lobos began to pull away.
Giddens tried to make his presence felt early in the second half with a shot attempt, two assists and a block within his first minute and half in the game.
Even Giddens had trouble containing junior guard Steven Rush, who had 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting including six three pointers. "We're an excellent passing and perimeter shooting team," said Eaves. "That should have been to our advantage and it wasn't."
Winning close games has been a problem for A&T in the past and this season has seen the Aggies blow leads against Stetson and Dayton also.
Junior forward Jason Wills had 19 points, seven rebounds and six steals for the Aggies, who kept the game close but never could regain the lead after New Mexico stretched it as much as ten in the second half.
Eaves and Wills both came off the bench. The Aggies bench scored a 49 of the teams' 78 points in the loss.
Senior Walter Booth struggled to find his stroke going 1-of-6 from the field, but Booth did have six assists, four rebounds and two steals to go along with his six points Saturday.
The Lobos were paced by Chad Toppert, who scored a career-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. New Mexico had four players in double figures in the win including Tony Dandrigde (17), Jamaal Smith (15) and Daniel Faris (11).
The Aggies never quit Saturday. They were still fighting late in the second half and managed to cut the lead to five with under a minute to go.
Coach Eaves was straightforward after the game; "I still believe that if we played them at a neutral court we could beat them."
The Aggies still don't have 2004 leading scorer Sean Booker and 2005 leading scorer Demetrius Guions back and have yet to have the services of Bowling Green transfer Nicholas Wilson but USAToday.com does quote Coach Eaves as saying; “When we get those guys back we'll have what I really call a team — one that should compete with anybody in this conference. This is what I've been waiting for since I got here."
A&T travels to Tempe, Ariz. Thursday to play in the Arizona State in the ASU Holiday Classic.
Some quotes from NCATAGGIES.com and GoLobos.com
BOX SCORE
North Carolina A&T vs New Mexico
12/16/06 1:05 P.M. at Albuquerque, N.M. (The Pit)
At Albuquerque, N.M. (The Pit)
NEW MEXICO 86, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 78
NORTH CAROLINA A&T (3-6)
RUSH, Steven 9-17 4-4 28; WILLS, Jason 6-12 7-9 19; EWING, Austin 2-5 1-2 7; CHAPLIN,Trahern 3-5 0-0 7; BOOTH, Walter 1-6 4-6 6; ROBERTS,Greg 2-3 1-3 5; HERNANDEZ, Angelo 2-5 0-0 4; PORTER,James 1-1 0-0 2; CRUMPTON,Derek 0-0 0-0 0; NELSON, Glenn 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 17-24 78.
NEW MEXICO (6-2)
Toppert, Chad 7-11 0-0 20; Danridge, Tony 6-11 5-6 17; Smith, Jamaal 3-7 7-8 15; Faris, Daniel 4-7 3-4 11; Giddens, J.R. 2-6 4-6 8; Martinez, Roman 3-6 1-3 7; Kersten, Ryan 1-1 0-0 3; Johnson, Aaron 1-4 1-8 3; Prentice, Darren 0-7 2-3 2; Walter, Kellen 0-1 0-0 0; Henfield, Jeffrey 0-1 0-0 0; KANYINDA, David 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 23-38 86.
North Carolina A&T............ 37 41 - 78
New Mexico.................... 33 53 - 86
3-point goals--North Carolina A&T 9-23 (RUSH, Steven 6-12; EWING, Austin 2-4; CHAPLIN,Trahern 1-2; NELSON, Glenn 0-2; BOOTH, Walter 0-3), New Mexico 9-27 (Toppert, Chad 6-10; Smith, Jamaal 2-6; Kersten, Ryan 1-1; GIDDENS, J.R. 0-1; Martinez, Roman 0-1; Prentice, Darren 0-5; Walter, Kellen 0-1; Henfield, Jeffrey 0-1; Danridge, Tony 0-1). Fouled out--North Carolina A&T-ROBERTS,Greg; HERNANDEZ, Angelo, New Mexico-FARIS, Daniel. Rebounds--North Carolina A&T 31 (WILLS, Jason 7), New Mexico 42 (FARIS, Daniel 8). Assists--North Carolina A&T 20 (BOOTH, Walter 6), New Mexico 20 (Giddens, J.R. 6). Total fouls--North Carolina A&T 26, New Mexico 18. Technical fouls--North Carolina A&T-NELSON, Glenn, New Mexico-FARIS, Daniel.
Attendence - 12271
by Mike McCray
Sports Editor
December 17, 2006
In 1983, the North Carolina State WolfPack went into The Pit and won a national championship on a Lorenzo Charles dunk at the buzzer, knocking off the heavily favored Houston Cougars, led by future NBA legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
The moment is one of the most memorable in all of college basketball.
Nothing that dramatic happend Saturday as the North Carolina A&T Aggies (3-6, 0-1 MEAC) failed to pull a huge upset in The Pit falling to New Mexico 86-78.
None of the current Aggies were born during that 1983 game and the New Mexico Lobos (6-2) are hardly as fearsome as "Phi Slamma Jamma" was then but the fact remains that the Aggies missed out on an opportunity to make a statement on their four-game west coast road trip.
"We have to learn when it's winning time on the road, win the game." said head coach Jerry Eaves, who wasn't looking for someone to hug like Jim Valvano was after the Aggies loss at The Pit.
The Aggies went into halftime with a 37-33 lead and led by as many as five but Lobos pressure and mistakes saw the Aggies lose the lead and the game. "It was a good game that we could have won if we don't make mistakes down the stretch," said Eaves.
Former McDonald's All-American J.R. Giddens was benched for the first half and came into the game in the second half scoring eight points off bench as the Lobos began to pull away.
Giddens tried to make his presence felt early in the second half with a shot attempt, two assists and a block within his first minute and half in the game.
Even Giddens had trouble containing junior guard Steven Rush, who had 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting including six three pointers. "We're an excellent passing and perimeter shooting team," said Eaves. "That should have been to our advantage and it wasn't."
Winning close games has been a problem for A&T in the past and this season has seen the Aggies blow leads against Stetson and Dayton also.
Junior forward Jason Wills had 19 points, seven rebounds and six steals for the Aggies, who kept the game close but never could regain the lead after New Mexico stretched it as much as ten in the second half.
Eaves and Wills both came off the bench. The Aggies bench scored a 49 of the teams' 78 points in the loss.
Senior Walter Booth struggled to find his stroke going 1-of-6 from the field, but Booth did have six assists, four rebounds and two steals to go along with his six points Saturday.
The Lobos were paced by Chad Toppert, who scored a career-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. New Mexico had four players in double figures in the win including Tony Dandrigde (17), Jamaal Smith (15) and Daniel Faris (11).
The Aggies never quit Saturday. They were still fighting late in the second half and managed to cut the lead to five with under a minute to go.
Coach Eaves was straightforward after the game; "I still believe that if we played them at a neutral court we could beat them."
The Aggies still don't have 2004 leading scorer Sean Booker and 2005 leading scorer Demetrius Guions back and have yet to have the services of Bowling Green transfer Nicholas Wilson but USAToday.com does quote Coach Eaves as saying; “When we get those guys back we'll have what I really call a team — one that should compete with anybody in this conference. This is what I've been waiting for since I got here."
A&T travels to Tempe, Ariz. Thursday to play in the Arizona State in the ASU Holiday Classic.
Some quotes from NCATAGGIES.com and GoLobos.com
BOX SCORE
North Carolina A&T vs New Mexico
12/16/06 1:05 P.M. at Albuquerque, N.M. (The Pit)
At Albuquerque, N.M. (The Pit)
NEW MEXICO 86, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 78
NORTH CAROLINA A&T (3-6)
RUSH, Steven 9-17 4-4 28; WILLS, Jason 6-12 7-9 19; EWING, Austin 2-5 1-2 7; CHAPLIN,Trahern 3-5 0-0 7; BOOTH, Walter 1-6 4-6 6; ROBERTS,Greg 2-3 1-3 5; HERNANDEZ, Angelo 2-5 0-0 4; PORTER,James 1-1 0-0 2; CRUMPTON,Derek 0-0 0-0 0; NELSON, Glenn 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 17-24 78.
NEW MEXICO (6-2)
Toppert, Chad 7-11 0-0 20; Danridge, Tony 6-11 5-6 17; Smith, Jamaal 3-7 7-8 15; Faris, Daniel 4-7 3-4 11; Giddens, J.R. 2-6 4-6 8; Martinez, Roman 3-6 1-3 7; Kersten, Ryan 1-1 0-0 3; Johnson, Aaron 1-4 1-8 3; Prentice, Darren 0-7 2-3 2; Walter, Kellen 0-1 0-0 0; Henfield, Jeffrey 0-1 0-0 0; KANYINDA, David 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 23-38 86.
North Carolina A&T............ 37 41 - 78
New Mexico.................... 33 53 - 86
3-point goals--North Carolina A&T 9-23 (RUSH, Steven 6-12; EWING, Austin 2-4; CHAPLIN,Trahern 1-2; NELSON, Glenn 0-2; BOOTH, Walter 0-3), New Mexico 9-27 (Toppert, Chad 6-10; Smith, Jamaal 2-6; Kersten, Ryan 1-1; GIDDENS, J.R. 0-1; Martinez, Roman 0-1; Prentice, Darren 0-5; Walter, Kellen 0-1; Henfield, Jeffrey 0-1; Danridge, Tony 0-1). Fouled out--North Carolina A&T-ROBERTS,Greg; HERNANDEZ, Angelo, New Mexico-FARIS, Daniel. Rebounds--North Carolina A&T 31 (WILLS, Jason 7), New Mexico 42 (FARIS, Daniel 8). Assists--North Carolina A&T 20 (BOOTH, Walter 6), New Mexico 20 (Giddens, J.R. 6). Total fouls--North Carolina A&T 26, New Mexico 18. Technical fouls--North Carolina A&T-NELSON, Glenn, New Mexico-FARIS, Daniel.
Attendence - 12271
