GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- Meet the Ahmad Abdullah the North Carolina A&T men’s basketball coaching staff saw during the offseason and training camp. So confident in Abdullah’s ability to run his offense, head coach Cy Alexander named the walk-on junior his starting point guard before the 2014-15 season started.But Abdullah regressed when the season started and freshman Austin Williams took over the starting point guard role. But with Williams out with a concussion, Abdullah got the start Saturday night against CSU Bakersfield and led the Aggies to an 83-70 win at Corbett Sports Center. It was the Aggies first win over a Division I opponent this season.
“He really stepped up to the plate and played his best game as an Aggie,” said Alexander. “This is what our coaching staff has been wanting from him. He’s been in the system for two years. Tonight he played as if he understood the system. Hopefully this game will give him confidence to keep playing like this.”
Abdullah finished with a career-high in points (17) and assists (5) on 4-for-8 shooting from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Abdullah complemented his night with just two turnovers in 40 minutes played.
“I just felt like if Ahmad could play well this game, it could catapult him to playing well throughout the rest of the season,” said Alexander.
Abdullah and the Aggies got their first win over a Division I foe by making a season-high 35 free throws, the most they’ve made since making 44 against Florida A&M on Feb. 8, 2014. It is also the last time the Aggies scored more than 80 points against a Division I school.
The Aggies Division I losing streak comes to an end at 15 games with their previous DI win coming against S.C. State on March 3, 2014. A&T got a win over a CSU Bakersfield team that defeated California of the PAC-12 on Dec. 28.
Junior Arturs Bremers went 4-for-4 from 3-point range and added a career-high 18 points. Leading scorer Bruce Beckford played only 19 minutes because of foul trouble and finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
“For Bruce to only play 19 minutes and we still win, it could be a big boost psychology for these guys,” said Alexander. “I was so happy for the kids in the locker room because they’ve been trying to get over the hump, and they finally got it done against a team that was on a three-game winning streak and had a win over Cal.”
A&T (3-13) is getting its confidence at the right time. Conference foes Savannah State and S.C. State will play at Corbett on Jan. 10 and 12 respectively. The Aggies won by knocking down free throws late in the game. The Aggies made 30 of its 32 second half free throws and were 21-for-22 at the line in the final five minutes of the game.
In fact, the Aggies final 19 points of the game all came from the free throw line. Sophomore Khary Doby’s baseline jumper gave the Aggies a 58-52 lead with seven minutes to play. Sophomore Denzel Keyes then drove baseline and scored while being fouled Dashawn Richmond. Keyes missed the free throw, allowing the Road Runners (4-11) to cut the lead to six with two free throws.
But redshirt freshman James Whitaker answered with the Aggies final field goal of the game, a transition layup that gave A&T a 62-54 lead with 4:37 remaining.
“Not having a Division I win was weighing on everybody,” Alexander. “We’ve been trying to stay positive. We kept saying, ‘it’s coming, it’s coming and it finally got here. What we didn’t want was for them to have a defeatist attitude. What we have to do is take advantage of this win going into the games that really count – our conference games.’”
The Runners (4-11) were led by Richmond who had a game-high 21 points on 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range.
The Aggies will have a week between games, which may give them time to get Williams back in the lineup.
“I hope Ahmad has his confidence to keep playing well because we have a young man in Austin Williams who is still learning how to play on the college level.”
A&T 83, Bakersfield 70COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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