Courtesy: North Carolina A&T
LAS VEGAS — When Texas Southern University’s (TSU) Zytarious Mortle stole the ball from North Carolina A&T guard Camian Shell and turned it into a super creative dunk on the other end to give the Tigers an 18-point advantage Saturday night at the Chris Paul HBCU Challenge at Michelob ULTRA Arena, things started looking bleak again for the 0-9 A&T men’s basketball.
But over the final 17 minutes of the game, the bleakness gradually subsided, the creative slams disappeared and the Aggies celebrated in Vegas with their first win of the season, 85-79, over the Tigers. The 18-point come-from-behind win also marked Montè Ross’s first win as A&T’s head coach. TSU dropped to 0-8.
“I’m just happy for the guys,” said Ross. “They work so hard, and again, it’s going to be an overused term from me, but they were committed to the process of what we’re doing without being emotionally attached to the results, and it showed. I told them it showed heart to get back in the game; now let’s show the smarts to finish this thing off.”
Sophomore Landon Glasper led the way with 31 points, seven assists and three steals, marking the second time he has exceeded 30 points in a single game this season. He went 9-for-16 from the floor, made three 3-pointers and was 10-for-13 from the free throw line.
“Landon was really selective about the shots he took tonight,” said Ross. “One of the biggest differences in his game tonight is that he pulled up from 30 (feet) tonight like he normally does, but it went in, and it really got him going to where they started to really press up on him, and he was able to get some drives to the basket because of it.”
After Mortle’s dunk, Glasper’s 3-pointer got the Aggies headed in the right direction, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 56-41. Glasper cut TSU’s lead to single figures, 69-61, on a pull-up jumper with 10:09 remaining. Four minutes later, Glasper’s three cut A&T’s deficit to 76-71.
Freshman Jalal McKie got the Aggies to within three before the final media timeout by following his miss. After the media timeout, Glasper hit two free throws before he turned a Shell steal into a 3-pointer that gave the Aggies a 78-76 lead with 2:40 remaining. It marked the Aggies first lead of the game.
After two Grayson Carter free throws ended A&T’s 11-0 run and tied the game at 78. Shell, who had to sit and gather himself after some second-half turnovers, returned with a vengeance as he drove to the basket and scored on a huge bucket to give the Aggies an 80-78 lead with 1:55 to play. Ninety seconds later, freshman Nikolaos Chitikoudis followed his miss with a not-so-much creative dunk but a massive one to seal the game for the Aggies.
A benefit for the Aggies on Saturday was the A&T debut of 6-foot-9 center Jason Murphy. After waiting out his appeal from the NCAA, the Frostburg State and NJIT transfer played his first game in an Aggies uniform. The Aggies, who have lacked size all season with the absence of Murphy and injured 6-9 center Will Felton, were even in rebounding (34-34) and points in the paint (28-28) on Saturday. Murphy finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
“He was tremendous,” said Ross. “I was nervous about the jitters he may have because it was his first game back. I told him, ‘Just do what you do in practice.’ And that’s the biggest compliment I can pay him. He practices at a high level every day, so I knew the game speed would not be a problem because that’s how he practices. The bigger concerns were his wind and his stamina. But he handled himself and the situation well.”
Murphy thanked his coaches, his teammates and his family for being uplifting while he waited to play. Murphy also said his presence adds depth to the Aggies lineup going forward.
“I think we get a little bit more aligned to our true positions, and it gives J-Rob (Jeremy Robinson) and Niko (Chitikoudis) more versatility to play on the perimeter and not the five (center) when I’m in the game,” said Murphy.
Chitikoudis’s putback dunk was his only two points of the game, but he did add nine rebounds. Three other Aggies joined Glasper in double figures as Shell finished with 13 points. Robinson connected on all four field goal attempts, including two 3-pointers to finish with 10, and McKie came off the bench to score 10.
Carter led the Tigers with 19 points. North Carolina A&T will close out the Chris Paul HBCU Challenge against Jackson State on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at Michelob ULTRA Arena.