Bulldogs drop second straight contest

Box Score

NORMAL – They fought hard but the Jaguars did not want to lose their second straight contest as Southern University grabbed an 66-52 win over A&M Saturday afternoon.

Jeremy Crutcher and G. A Hill scored six points apiece in the first but that only was 12 of 25 points the Bulldogs would score in the opening period compared to SU's 33.

A&M enjoyed a slim lead in the opening half until the 17:25 mark when Southern's Trelun Banks hit the second of two free throws to put the Blue and Gold up 4-3 and never look back.

At the break Southern enjoyed a 33-25 lead.

The second half saw Alabama A&M make a run to the tune of an 18-11 run that saw a 44-43 score at the 9:25 mark. From there, without their big man Jerome Hunter who went down in the first half with a knee injury, AAMU was not able to keep up with the Jaguars as they went on to out-score the Maroon & White 33-27 to win the contest 66-52.

"They shot 78 percent from the free-throw line and we didn't have anyone on the inside once Jerome went out," said head coach Willie Hayes. "They made more free throws than we shot".

Southern pressured the guards the entire game forcing A&M into 12 turnovers compared to the Jaguars eight. Other than the run, A&M was unable to connect on the shots they needed to make due to the unexpected injury to Hunter.

The Bulldogs shot 29 percent from the field in the second half and finished with 34% from the field for the game.

SU outscored A&M 32-24 in points in the paint and 13-4 in fast break points while the Bulldogs earned a 9-7 advantage in points off turnovers and a 26-12 advantage in bench points.

Crutcher finished with 16 points while Hill totaled 10. Jose Long finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

Coach Hayes and crew will try to right the ship when they visit Alcorn State on Monday, January 27, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

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