Box Score / Casey Cantey led the Bulldogs with 21 points in 31 minutes as the Alabama A&M men’s basketball team dropped a home decision against Auburn, 87-52 at the Von Braun Center on Monday night. This marks the first time in program history the Bulldogs have hosted an SEC team. With the loss, A&M falls to 2-3 on the season. The team is back in action on Sat. Dec. 5 at Elmore against Tuskegee. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Two other Bulldogs recorded double figures. Evan Hilton finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and Cornelius Hester led all bench scorers with 11 points in 24 minutes of action. Adam Young pulled down a team-high seven off the glass. As a team, the Bulldogs went 19-for-57 from the field, including 9-for-30 from behind the arc.

Auburn pulled away from A&M as they took a 67-37 advantage – its largest of the game – at the 9:14 mark off a Brendon Knox dunk. The Bulldogs were unable to chip away at the lead as Auburn earned its fourth victory of the season. With the win, the Tigers improve to 4-3 on the year.

Auburn was led by Lucas Hargrove’s game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds. Tay Waller and Andrew Malone tallied 13 and 10 points, respectively. The Tigers held a 52-31 advantage on the glass and shot 35-for-69 (50.7 percent) from the floor.

In the first stint, the Bulldogs came out with intensity, scoring the first two points of the game within the first 10 seconds of the game off a layup by Hilton. The Bulldogs scored two consecutive baskets to take a five point advantage, 7-2, capped by a Cantey triple. The Tigers tied to score at nine off a trey from Waller. Auburn went on a 13-1 run in the last five-plus minutes of the period to pull away to take a 41-24 cushion at the half.

 Hester led the Bulldogs at the half behind 2-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. The Bulldogs were held to a 37 percent shooting clip (10-for-27).

A&M will host Tuskegee on Dec. 5 beginning at 7:30 p.m.