Box Score

Casey Cantey and John Smith both tallied career highs with 16 and 14 points, repsectively, and Alabama A&M hung with Western Kentucky well into the second half Sunday. In the end, however, the Hilltoppers (7-3) finshed with an 83-60 victory over the Bulldogs (2-5). A&M opened the game with a 7-0 run and held the lead through much of the first half until a the Bulldogs went scoreless over the final 3:23, and WKU closed with a 9-0 run to lead 37-30 at the break.

Alabama A&M closed the lead to five twice in the second half, but Western slowly stretched the lead to a comfortable margin for much of the second half. AAMU shot a season-best 52 percent from the floor in the first half, but cooled off in the second half to finish the game at 41.8 percent.

The Toppers held a 40-27 rebound advantage as Smith led the Bulldogs with nine. Cantey also finished with six rebounds.

A&M is now off through the Christmas holiday until an in-state matchup at Auburn on Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m.