Box Score CORAL GABLES, Fla. ^__  The Alabama A&M men's basketball team fell to the Miami Hurricanes, 88-74, Saturday afternoon inside the Watsco Center, despite a gritty game by the squad.

The Bulldogs (2-6) battled hard in the first half, as they went back and forth with the Hurricanes for a majority of the first half, with the largest lead for Miami (6-3) being 11 points. Freshman Garrett Hicks led the way for the Bulldogs in the first with seven points and two assists along with TJ Parham who scored six along with three rebounds and two assists in the half.

A&M continued to fight in the second half, being within five points at 75-70 with 3:50 to play, however could not close down the stretch as Miami gained control of the game with a 10-0 run late capped by back-to-back threes from guards Kameron McGusty and Dejan Vasiljevic to go up 85-70 with just under two minutes remaining. 

Freshman Jalen Johnson scored a season-high 14 points to lead the Bulldogs, however it was not enough to pull off the upset over Miami on the road. Hicks finished with 12 points and five rebounds, Parham with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, followed by Cameron Alford who recorded 10 points and four assists.

Redshirt junior Kameron McGusty led Miami with 21 points, while senior DJ Vasiljevic scored 17 on 5-for-6 shooting from three. Guards Chris Lykes (13), Harlond Beverly (12) and forward Sam Waardenburg (11) also scored in double figures for the Hurricanes.

Coach Dylan Howard Post Game Comments

• The difference today was McGusty and DJ. We allowed DJ to hit some deep threes and we knew coming into the game that was what he does, he's one of the best shooters in the nation. McGusty just took over the game, started getting downhill and we either fouled or gave up the straight line drive down the stretch in those last few minutes. After watching film last week, our objective for this game was to get the ball inside on offense, we really felt like that could be a strength for us today, and our bigs really helped us tonight by making plays in the paint. I'm really proud of our guys on how hard they fought and really proud of the effort this game."

Post Game Notes

• A&M starters: Cameron Tucker, Garrett Hicks, Cameron Alford, TJ Parham, EJ Williams
• The Bulldogs shot 31-for-60 (51.7 percent) from the field as a team for the game, and 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from the three point line.
• Miami won the rebounding battle over Alabama A&M 33-29, with the Hurricanes grabbing 10 offensive rebounds to gain 11 second chance points, while the Bulldogs grabbed seven offensive boards for six second chance points.
• Turnovers: A&M scored 13 points off 10 Miami turnovers, the Hurricanes scored 10 points off 11 Bulldog turnovers.
• Four A&M players reached double figures, the highest number for the season. Johnson led the team with 14 off the bench, followed by Garrett Hicks who scored 12, TJ Parham with 11 and Cameron Alford who added 10.
• Bench: The Bulldog bench out scored the Hurricane bench 25-20, with Johnson leading their bench with 14.

Up Next
Alabama A&M remains on the road for their next game as they face opponent South Alabama on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. CT before returning to Elmore for a matchup against in-state foe North Alabama on Friday, Dec. 20 at 6 p.m.
 
For more information on the A&M men's basketball team, follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@Bulldogs_Hoops) and Instagram (@Bulldogs_Hoops). For more on all Bulldogs sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of AAMU Athletics on Twitter (@AAMUBulldogs), Facebook (Facebook.com/aamubulldogs) and Instagram (@AAMUathletics).