Saturday, January 3, 2015

A&T Aggies Welcome CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners To Corbett

CSU Bakersfield (4-10) at North Carolina A&T (2-13)  
Date:
 January 3, 2015
Time: 7 p.m.
Facility: Corbett Sports Center
Series: CSUB leads 1-0

PROBABLE STARTERS: Austin Williams (6-1, 175, Fr., 6.3 ppg, 3.5 apg); G Arturs Bremers(6-3, 195, Jr., 6.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg); F Bruce Beckford (6-7, 215, Jr., 15.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg); FKhary Doby (6-6, 206, So., 7.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg); CSteven Burrough (6-9, 245, So., 3.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg).

Aggies Overview:  The Aggies return home for three straight home games starting with a non-conference contest against CSU Bakersfield. This will be a very important stretch of the season for the Aggies. A 3-0 homestand could change the whole perspective on what has been a tough season thus far. 

The Aggies will rely on junior starBruce Beckford who has scored in double figures in his last seven games and ranks among the top scorers in the MEAC at 15.3 points per game. The Aggies are also looking for a complement to Beckford. 

Juniors Khary Doby and Arturs Bremers and redshirt freshman James Whitaker have all taken turns being the Aggies No. 2 scorer but none have step forward on a consistent basis. Head coach Cy Alexander believes those four players consistency will go a long way in the Aggies 2014-15 success.

CSUB Overview: The Roadrunners got off to a 1-10 start, but they have heated up lately. The Runners are on a three-game winning streak which includes wins over Idaho State and California of the PAC-12.

The Runners are led by 6-foot-9 center Aly Ahmed. Ahmed leads the Runners in scoring at 14.1 points and is second in rebounding at 6.4 per game. On Dec. 29, he was named WAC Player of the Week after the win over Cal. He ranks among the top-5 scorers and top-10 rebounders in the conference. 

Another strong rebounder for the Runners is Kevin Mays. He is 37thin the nation in double-doubles with four and leads the WAC in rebounding at 8.4 boards per. Javonte Maynor is one of the Runners top 3-point shooters. He is the active 3-point leader in the WAC in 3-pointers made with 171.

Potential Star: Jerome Simmons came off the bench to score six points on 3-for-3 shooting at the University of South Carolina on Tuesday. The Aggies will need his presence against a good frontline from CSU Bakersfield.  

News & Notes:
  • A&T’s Bruce Beckford and CSU Bakersfield’s Javonte Maynor are the only two players remaining from the 2012 game between the Aggies and the Runners.
  • Beckford had eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in 15 minutes played. Maynor was 7-for-13 from the floor and 5-for-10 from 3-point range to score 19 points in the 60-52 Bakersfield win in California.
  • The Aggies are 7-4 against non-conference Division I opponents at Corbett Sports Center in the past 10 seasons. One of those losses was against WAC school Utah Valley.

COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

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