Hempstead, New York – The men’s basketball team of the A&T Aggies in North Carolina tried to overcome heavy second-half losses in their previous two games, but lost both. But most of that scenario changed on Saturday afternoon at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex against Hofstrapride.
The Aggies lost by double digits, but this time won thanks to a freshman buzzer beater chip-in. Tyrese Elliot It gave the Aggies an 81-79 victory.
A&T’s winning streak marked a four-game losing streak as the Aggies improved to 6-9 overall and 1-1 in the league. Hofstra said his two-game winning streak dropped to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in CAA play. But the Colonial Athletic Association’s (CAA) victory, the first in men’s basketball history, came in a breathless way.
Hofstra guard Aaron Estrada started the move with a spectacular dribble against A&T Jr. Marcus Watson The game was tied at 79 with 20 seconds remaining. He went back and forth between his legs, made a spin move, and tried to score.
Watson was none of those things, forcing a tough fadeaway from the elbow.Shots get longer, Aggies guard cam woods I suppressed the rebound. The point guard ran up the floor to win the game.
An alert Elliot quickly rose above the rim and tipped the ball when the buzzer sounded. When officials went to his monitor for a replay to see if the ball left Elliott’s fingertips in time, the A&T player roared with excitement from the sidelines before all the hugs and Called back from a Pile-on celebration.
After waiting a couple of minutes, officials confirmed Elliot’s tip-in had beaten the buzzer and sent the Aggies into another celebration layered on top of each other.
“It’s a great feeling. It’s historic. I’m ecstatic,” said A&T’s interim head coach. Philip Shumpert“We are very proud of our staff and coaching staff to be in such a high-level league and to get our first win against one of the best teams in the conference in Hofstra. They’re doing a great job scouting us, coming up with opponents and a good game plan.”
Part of Saturday’s game plan was clearly to slow down Estrada, who entered the game averaging 22.5 points per game. A&T did a proper job as Estrada finished 5-0 to 3, though his 8-for-17 shooting saw him score 18 points.
Estrada scored on a layup with 9:57 remaining to give Pride a 64–51 lead. It marked Pride’s biggest lead in the game. It was also the third straight game the Aggies were down in double figures in the second half.
However, like the previous two games, the fighting Aggies returned and made the game competitive. The Aggies went on to run 13-for-3 in his next four minutes, which included two of his 3-pointers from the seniors. Demetric Horton Cut the Hofstra lead to 67-64.
Hofstra pushed the lead to 6, 73-67 on a Warren Williams layup with 4:15 left before Elliott happened. He netted a three from the corner to bring the Aggies back within three. Horton then tied the game at 73 with a triple from the top of the key with 2:37 left. Horton finished the game with 21 points and 6 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting and 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
However, Hofstra’s Darlingstone Dubar hit a mighty 3-pointer a minute later to give Pride a 79-75 lead with 91 seconds remaining. But the Aggies didn’t miss this comeback. Woods, who scored 12, cut Jacan Carlos’s tough jumper over inches inside the free-throw line area to cut the lead to his two.
Watson then forced Estrada into a turnover with Elliot scoring the final four points of the game. Elliott came out of his A&T timeout and ran through the lane to tie the tie at 79. This resulted in his Estrada miss and the winning chip-in.
A&T charged back from the reserves, mostly behind plays.freshman Duncan Powell He came off the bench to record career-high points (18) and rebounds (12), as well as his first career double-double. Elliott came off the bench and added his career-high 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
“This game here was our time,” Shumpert said. Duncan Powell come into himself.He got out last year, but he can see the real deal now Duncan PowellThen we have Tyrese Elliothe was another heralded recruit, but we’ll get to see what he’s up to as a player as the season progresses.
I was on a four-game losing streak, so I beat him easily. But these guys are fighting. They’re fighting, fighting, fighting.”
