A&M struggles vs. No. 20 Michigan

Box Score

ANN ARBOR -- Alabama A&M (2-4) recorded the game's first basket within the opening minute of the game to give the Bulldogs a quick 2-0 lead over the Wolverines, but the University of Michigan responded by going on a 13-0 run over the next three and a half minutes cruising to a 87-57 victory.

In their third of eight straight road contests and first against a top 25 opponent, the Bulldogs struggled to find a shooting grove connecting on nine or 32 field goals in the first half for 28 percent and 11 of 30 in the second half for 37%.

A&M was outscored 30-22 in points in the paint and 17-7 in fast break opportunities. At one point the Maroon & White went six minutes and eight seconds without a basket while Michigan had seven scoring runs of eight points or more.

The Hayes led squad did out-score the Wolverines 22-14 in points off turnovers and 10-9 in points off offensive boards.

“With a team that size and that strong we had to keep the intensity up,” head coach Willie Hayes said. “We played well in the first half but came out lackluster in the second.”

“The energy from the first half was excellent, we could have folded then but we didn’t,” Hayes mentioned. “The same energy we had in the first half we need to continue it in the second.”

This was coach Hayes first television contest of his young coaching career, as the game was shown live on the Big Ten network.

Casey Cantey scored 15 points and pulled in five rebounds leading the Bulldogs. He has now totaled 982 points needing only 18 for his 1,000^th career. Jeremy Ingram scored a season high 14 points while Jeremy Crutcher scored 12 for his third contest on the year with double digit figures.

The Bulldogs played its first game since Dec. 3 because of a break for finals.

The Maroon & White will now travel to Atlanta, GA to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Arena at Gwinnett. Game time is set for 7 p.m. eastern and will be available “Live” on ESPN3.com and WJAB 90.9.

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