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Aggies Defeat Eagles 51-48, and Improve to 6-0 in the MEAC

Landon Bost

DURHAM, N.c – The North Carolina A&T State University Aggies (11-9, 6-0 MEAC) ousted the North Carolina Central University Eagles (9-11, 4-2 MEAC) 51-48.

This rivalry game matchup went back-and-forth all game. The Aggies started on a 7-0 run over the first 3:36, but the Eagles were able to even the score at eight all with 14:48 left in the first half. The game was tied four different times, and there were 6 lead changes.

All game long, it seemed as if both teams were a couple plays away from loosing or winning the game. However, the Eagles could not score baskets when they needed to the most.

Impact Players

Ronald Jackson, Aggies junior forward: Jackson caused matchup problems for the Eagles all game . At 6’8″, with a quick first step, he forced the Eagles’ big men to play on the perimeter. He went 5-6 (2-2 3PT) from the field for 16 points.

Randy Miller, Jr., Eagles junior guard: Miller finished as the game’s leading scorer with 21 points. He also added seven rebounds for a career-high.

Raasean Davis, Eagles redshirt senior center: Davis added another double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Game Commentary

  • A slow-paced game with the majority of sets coming in the half-court.
  • By halftime, the Eagles had 11 turnovers. They finished the game with 18.
  • Davis didn’t have enough touches. At halftime, he had four points.
  • The Aggies played zone defense on the Eagles.
  • The Eagles shot 20-57 (35.1%) from the field and 3-22 (13.6%) from the 3-point line, and the Aggies shot 18-48 (37.5%) from the field and 7-22 (31.8%) from the 3-point line.
Aggies junior forward Ronald Jackson and Eagles redshirt senior Raasean Davis battling on the inside.

Quick Hits

  • The Eagles outrebounded the Aggies 44-25.
  • Only five out of 10 Eagles who played recorded a basket. Four of the Eagles who did not score attempted baskets.
  • The Aggies scored 22 bench points versus the Eagles’ six bench points.
  • Attendance was 3,043.

Firsthand Perspective

“I’ve never been in a game where we didn’t shoot free throws in the first half,” Eagles head coach LeVelle Moton said.

“They put (Jackson) at the five, and that’s (Davis’) matchup,” Moton said. “And a lot of times, when (Davis) is hedging on screens, (Davis) isn’t accustomed to playing on the perimeter, but how you combat that is you got to make layups. (Jackson) has to guard (Davis) too, and we didn’t do a good job of finishing layups at the rim.”

“We were terrible,”Moton said. “That’s one of the worst basketball games we ever played in our lives. We were throwing the basketball away everywhere: 11 turnovers at the half. We’re just not ready for those moments.”

What’s Next

The Aggies next game is Saturday, Feb 2. against the Florida A&M University Rattlers (7-14, MEAC 4-2) in Tallahassee, Florida at 6:00 p.m. EST.

The Eagles travel to Savannah, Georgia for matchup against the Savannah State University Tigers (5-14, 2-3 MEAC) on Monday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. EST.