In a game of a lifetime for its participants, Hampton University lost a 71-70 heartbreaker to North Carolina A&T late Friday night at the Forum in Inglewood, California.
Trent Middleton Jr.’s “and-one” layup and free throw with 4.5 seconds remaining provided the decisive points for the Aggies (10-14, 2-10 Coastal Athletic Association) against the Pirates (12-14, 6-6).
The fifth NBA HBCU Classic, which has pit different teams each season, was like no other conference game in CAA history. The Pirates and Aggies went across the country and played in the arena where Lakers such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy won championships.
Hampton led for the great majority of the game, continually stopping A&T comebacks — until the very end. Ahead 68-62 with 1:22 remaining, the Pirates became unglued against the Aggies’ press, as guard Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt was charged with turnovers on three straight possessions.
A&T converted all of them into points, with a Bryson Ogletree layup and Lewis Walker’s four free throws forcing a 68-68 tie with 35 seconds left.
Gaines-Wyatt sank two free throws with 25 seconds left, giving the Pirates a 70-68 lead. A&T called timeout before Middleton knifed through the defense for a difficult layup, drawing a foul by Josh Ogundele in the process.
After Middleton swished the go-ahead free throw, Hampton got the ball upcourt well. Gaines-Wyatt raced inside the top of the key and took a shot that circled around the rim but spun out, ending the game.
Gaines-Wyatt and Xzavier Long led HU with 17 points apiece, and Elijah Kennedy came off the bench for 13. Long, Ogundele and Daniel Johnson each had six rebounds, and Kody Williams had five assists.
For A&T, Walker had 18 points and Middleton 15.
Before the CAA teams took the court shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern, there already had been a celebrity game and a Rising Stars tournament.
With NBA All-Star markings on the court, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Chloe Bailey’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” preceded the game, all shown on ESPN2.
At halftime, when networks typically go to studio updates, ESPN2 showed the “Battle of the Bands” between “The Force” of Hampton and A&T’s, emceed by actor Terrence J, an A&T alum.
HU won the teams’ previous meeting 82-61 at the Convocation Center with far less fanfare. But Friday’s showdown was the fifth in the rivals’ last seven meetings that was decided by just one point.
Virginia Peninsula Community College 84, Patrick & Henry Community College 77: The Bobcats, who have climbed to a best-ever ranking of 14th in National Junior College Athletic Association Division III, improved to 17-6 overall and 6-1 in Region 10 with a victory in the Martinsville area.
Bryant & Stratton 125, Southwest Virginia Community College 75: The Bobcats (16-7, 13-4 conference) put their offense in rare form as they romped in Atlantic Shores’ gym.
Wisconsin 92, No. 10 Michigan State 71: Nick Boyd scored 29 points and shot 5 of 7 from 3-point range as host Wisconsin beat a top-10 for the second time in four nights.
Wisconsin (18-7, 10-4 Big Ten) is the first team to post three wins over top-10 squads this season. The Badgers won 91-88 at No. 2 Michigan on Jan. 10 and pulled out a 92-90 overtime victory at No. 8 Illinois on Tuesday.
The Badgers made their first five 3-point attempts in the opening 5 1/2 minutes and never looked back in a victory that ended with a court-storming.
Boyd scored 20 points in the first half, while John Blackwell had 19 of his 24 in the second half.
Coen Carr had 19 points to lead the Spartans (20-5, 10-4).
No. 18 Saint Louis 86, Loyola Chicago 59: Trey Green and Ishan Sharma each scored 14 points in Chicago as Saint Louis won its 18th straight game. The Billikens (24-1, 12-0 Atlantic 10) made 10 of 12 shots to pull away midway through the second half.
Justin Moore scored 12 points for the Ramblers (6-20, 2-11).
No. 23 Miami of Ohio 90, Ohio 74: Brant Byers scored 21 points, Peter Suder had 20 and the RedHawks won at home in Oxford to remain the lone unbeaten team in Division I.
Eian Elmer added 15 points for the RedHawks (25-0, 11-0 Mid-American Conference), who tied the single-season school record for victories set last season.
Jackson Paveletzke led Ohio (13-13, 7-6) with 22 points.
George Washington 72, George Mason 53: Luke Hunger scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Revolutionaries (15-11, 6-7 Atlantic 10) in D.C. as they gained a season split with the Patriots. Jean Aranguren had 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for GW, which outscored George Mason 40-23 in the second half.
Masai Troutman led the Patriots (21-5, 9-4) with 15 points. George Mason got 13 points and four assists from Jahari Long.
Women
Towson 69, Hampton 44: Towson (14-10, 7-5 CAA) went ahead 8-0 and never looked back against the Pirates (9-15, 3-9) at the HU Convocation Center. It was Hampton’s fourth consecutive loss.
India Johnston scored 19 points and Masyn Marchbanks 14 for the Tigers. They moved ahead 25-9 to start the second quarter as HU endured a 1-of-18 shooting stretch.
Kiki McElrath and Kayla Lezama each scored 17 points for Hampton, which shot just 23.7% from the field and made just one 3-pointer in 15 attempts.