Courtesy of NC A&T Athletics
GREENSBORO — North Carolina A&T (NC A&T) men’s basketball has produced talented scorers in its illustrious history. Sophomore guard Landon Glasper shows signs that he may be the next name added to the exclusive list.
In the meantime, Glasper will become the first player in program history to be named Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) player of the week as the conference released its weekly accolades on Tuesday. Duncan Powell won CAA Rookie of the week twice last season, but no Aggie claimed the Player of the Week award last year in A&T’s first season in the CAA.
Glasper picked up the honor after he scored 30 points, dished out five assists, grabbed five rebounds, and collected two steals in the Aggies come-from-behind 85-82 win at Coastal Carolina last Thursday. Glasper’s 30-point outburst marked the third time he has reached the 30-point plateau this season, becoming the first Aggie to have three 30-point games in a season since Lamont Middleton did it during the 2013-14 season.
His performance was made even better considering the Aggies were missing 6-foot-9 freshman Nikolaos Chitikoudis and experienced first-half foul trouble with 6-9 center Jason Murphy and 6-8 forward Evan Joyner. Despite those setbacks, Glasper kept the Aggies in the game after A&T opened the game trailing 14-5.
Twenty of Glasper’s 30 came in the first-half points, including scoring on a miraculous 4-point play, where he was bumped as he elevated for a 3-pointer, but still managed to hit an off-balance three before completing everything by hitting the free throw. Glasper also found an open Uchenna Kellman-Nicholes for a 3-pointer to end the first half to give the Aggies a 45-40 halftime lead, just their second halftime lead of the season.
“Landon is a tremendous young player that is growing up right before our eyes,” said NC A&T head coach Montè Ross. “He has an uncanny ability to score the ball but wants to improve in all areas of his game.”
Landon Glasper also helped the Aggies rally from a 74-61 second-half deficit with 7:28 remaining. He had six points during an 18-5 A&T spurt to tie the game at 79 with 2 1/2 minutes to play. He then hit two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to give the Aggies an 85-82 lead. Glasper and the Aggies will return to action on Saturday at George Mason when they face the Patriots at EagleBank Arena at 2 p.m.