North Carolina A&T broke its streak of two consecutive losses, defeating Elon in a 66-61 thriller on Wednesday night at Ellis Corbett Sports Center. The Phoenix went into halftime with a four-point lead, but the Aggies wouldn’t go down without a fight. They outscored the Phoenix 34-25 in the second half to come out on top.
Watson, Bettis lead NC A&T
Marcus Watson scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the way for NC A&T (12-14, 7-6 CAA). Watson, who led comeback win at Elon earlier in the season, was 10 of 10 from the free throw line sparking a 17 of 21 effort (81.0%) for the Aggies from the charity stripe. It was their best performance from the line on the season.
But it was back-up point guard Love Bettis who pulled the Aggies through. Bettis, a sophomore juco transfer who won a NJCAA national championship at Coffeyville (Ks.) Junior College, scored 14 of his 20 points and canned four of his six 3-pointers in the second half. His third three of the half tied the game at 57 with 4:08 left. He then put the Aggies in front for good at 63-61 on his fourth trifecta at the 1:12 mark.
As a whole, the Aggies were less than impressive on the offensive side of the ball, shooting just 33% from the field. Bettis shot 6 of 9 from long range. They found an advantage on the fast break though, accumulating 21 transition points on the game.
The Phoenix struggled from the field
Torrence Watson recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for Elon. The Phoenix shot 22-of-62 from the field and 8-of-26 from behind the arc. Their shooting was part of larger offensive struggles that contributed to the loss. Elon only mustered 0.86 points per possession on 45% true shooting.
Both teams face their next test on Feb. 11. North Carolina A&T visits Stony Brook, while Elon squares off with William & Mary. The Aggies will look to keep their momentum rolling and earn another win. On the other side, the Phoenix will be thankful to return home.
This content was produced using Artificial Intelligence technology before being approved and published by HBCU Gameday. Sam Quick is a moniker for our AI technology and is not an actual person.