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GREENSBORO — The Corbett Sports Center crowd sounded like it was in pain as fans moaned during each of Thomas Coleman's three missed shots late in the first half Monday night, first with a botched lob layup over the rim, followed by tip-ins that rolled across the back iron.

But that was the kind of night the N.C. A&T men's basketball team labored through once again in a 65-55 loss to Hampton.

Coleman's point-blank misses were only one example from a night in which even the Aggies' uncontested shots didn't fall and an opponent once again pulled ahead to an early double-digit lead it could nurse in handing A&T (5-13, 1-4 MEAC) its eighth consecutive loss and 11th in its last 12 games.

Hampton (5-12, 2-3 MEAC) pulled ahead by 18 points late in the first half, held the Aggies to 36 percent shooting (19 of 53) and maintained a double-digit lead for most of the final 30 minutes.

"We're just in a serious, serious shooting slump," said Aggies coach Jerry Eaves. "We just can't hit layups or free throws when we need to. We just need to play through that."

Dwane Joshua led A&T with 18 points and Coleman recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kwame Morgan scored 13 points to lead Hampton, which handed the Aggies their second consecutive home loss after starting 4-0.

But just like Saturday's loss to Howard, when the Bison scored the game's first eight points and pulled ahead to a double-digit lead midway through the opening half, Hampton seized the momentum early in the first half and built a lead the Aggies spent the remainder of the game attempting to erase.

An 11-2 run pushed Hampton's lead to double digits at 19-9 with 9:46 remaining in the first half, and an 11-3 run later in the half extended the margin to 36-18. The Aggies, meanwhile, were limited to 37 percent shooting in the half — struggles that were punctuated by Thompson's missed layups with 1:28 remaining and A&T trailing by 15 — and were pounded on the boards 20-12.

"We've just got to get tougher," said Joshua, who cited A&T's 14 turnovers and a 42-29 overall rebound deficit as signs of the team's soft play. "I'm proud of our resiliency. ... We've just got to play more tough as a unit."

The Aggies' defense tightened up in the second half, holding Hampton to 33 percent (8 of 24) from the field after giving up a 50-percent shooting first half. The Pirates managed only one field goal in an eight-minute stretch, which included a streak of turnovers on four consecutive possessions.

But the Aggies' cold hands never warmed with their defense, going nearly five minutes without a field goal in one stretch — during which A&T went 0-for-6 from the field and committed three turnovers — to nullify their stingy defensive effort.

The Aggies drew no closer than nine points until a free throw from Tavarus Alston trimmed the margin to 59-58 with 45.4 seconds remaining.

"It's just makes it very tough when the ball doesn't go in the basket," Eaves said. "We executed the exact way we wanted (at the end). We got the exact shots they wanted. We just didn't make them."

HAMPTON (5-12) — Pellum 4-7 2-2 10, Funches 3-7 4-4 10, Freeman 5-7 1-1 11, Simpson 2-9 4-5 8, Tunnell 0-3 2-2 2, Brooks 1-3 2-2 4, Tolson 2-5 1-2 7, Morgan II 4-9 2-2 13, Ntoko 0-0 0-0 0, Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Lola-Charles 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 21-50 18-22 65.

N.C. A&T (5-13) — Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Porter 0-2 0-0 0, Alston 3-9 2-6 10, Joshua 6-16 5-8 18, Simpson 2-6 2-2 8, Buck 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 0-3 0-0 0, Coleman 7-11 2-5 16, Witter 1-5 0-0 3, Upchurch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 11-21 55.

Halftime—Hampton 39-28.
3-point goals—Hampton 5-15 (Morgan II 3-4, Tolson 2-4, Brooks 0-1, Pellum 0-2, Simpson 0-4), N.C. A&T 6-23 (Alston 2-5, Simpson 2-5, Witter 1-4, Joshua 1-7, Hill 0-2).
Fouled out—Funches.
Rebounds—Hampton 42 (Freeman 11), N.C. A&T 29 (Coleman 10).
Assists—Hampton 10 (Brooks 3), N.C. A&T 11 (Alston 4).
Total fouls—Hampton 21, N.C. A&T 16.
A—3,291.