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WASHINGTON — N.C. A&T, a team built around 3-point shooting, went 3-for-24 from beyond the arc Saturday in a 59-49 loss to Howard.

"We can't hit a shot right now,'' A&T coach Jerry Eaves said. "But I truly believe when the dike opens up, it's really going to open up."

Added to a 7-for-32 performance in Monday's loss, A&T was 10-for-56 (17.9 percent) from 3-point range this week.

"Right now we're in a scoring funk," Eaves said, "and it's grown to be a little larger than it needs to be."

The Aggies trailed 17-11 with 7 minutes remaining in the first half. N.C. A&T went the next 4 minutes without a field goal and saw Howard's lead grow to 27-15. It would not be the only drought of the day.

After trailing 32-21 at the half, the Aggies opened the second half with a layup from Dwane Joshua. The Aggies went the next 7 minutes without a field goal. Howard's lead ballooned to 46-23 before the Aggies were able to respond with a free throw.

The Aggies got the deficit down to 10 with 8 ½ minutes remaining on a Robert Johnson 3-pointer. But when the Aggies tried to get closer, Nic Simpson had a 3-pointer roll in and out, and Coleman and Joshua missed back-to-back layups.

"The only thing I can tell the young men is to keep playing great defense," Eaves said. "When we do start to make shots again -- like we did early in the year -- then we can make a run and win this thing (MEAC tournament)."

Calvin Thompson scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Bison (7-19, 6-5 MEAC), who snapped a six-game losing streak. It was the fewest points allowed by Howard this season.

Howard shot poorly in the second half, making 7 of 24 field goal attempts (29.2 percent), and made 20 of 55 (36.4 percent) for the game.

"My men played well," Eaves said. "They played great defense. We turned them over. We stole the ball."

Marc Hill scored 13 points for the Aggies, who have lost three of their past four games and fell to 2-13 on the road. Thomas Coleman chipped in with 11 rebounds.

N.C. A&T (8-17) — Alston 3-8 2-2 8, Joshua 3-15 0-0 7, Coleman 3-6 1-1 7, Witter 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 3-8 1-2 8, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 4-7 4-4 13, Simpson 0-3 0-0 0, Upchurch 1-2 0-0 2, Porter 1-3 2-5 4. Totals 18-54 10-14 49.

HOWARD (7-19) — White 3-7 2-3 10, Thompson 5-14 2-2 14, Walker 3-8 1-2 7, Phillips 1-5 2-2 4, Collins 4-12 0-0 12, Mukole 1-2 3-3 5, Braimbridge 0-0 0-0 0, Riley 3-4 1-4 7, Lawrence 0-0 0-0 0, Prince 0-3 0-0 0, Cooper 0-0 0-0 0, Kirkpatrick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 11-16 59.

Halftime—Howard 32-21.
3-point goals—N.C. A&T 3-24 (Johnson 1-3, Hill 1-4, Joshua 1-8, Witter 0-2, Simpson 0-3, Alston 0-4), Howard 8-24 (Collins 4-11, Thompson 2-4, White 2-6, Mukole 0-1, Prince 0-2).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—N.C. A&T 37 (Coleman 11), Howard 39 (Thompson 12).
Assists—N.C. A&T 7 (Alston 3), Howard 9 (Thompson 5).
Total fouls—N.C. A&T 16, Howard 14.
A—973.