Box Score JACKSON, Miss. ^__ A monster night by freshman center EJ Williams (20 points, 10 rebounds) helped push the Alabama A&M men's team to their first SWAC win on the year on Monday night in Jackson at the Lee E. Williams Athletics & Assembly Center. The Bulldogs (4-9, 1-1 SWAC) defeated the Jackson State Tigers (4-11, 1-1 SWAC) 66-57 to snap their two-game losing streak.

The Bulldogs bounced back after falling to Grambling in their first conference matchup and punished the Tigers for 32 points in the paint, included a second straight double-double by Williams and career-high scoring night. Freshman guard Cameron Tucker also had a scoring high in the win, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists on the night.

First Half

• Jackson State scored the first four points of the game before Alabama A&M responded with a 9-2 run to lead 9-6 with 16:03 to play in the first half, as center EJ Williams had five of the first nine points for the Bulldogs.
• Jackson State answered to tie the game at the 12:24 mark and the two teams battled back and forth the remainder of the half, neither leading by more than three points.
• The Bulldogs made 12-of-14 free throws in the first half, however headed into the locker room trailing by a point, 25-24.
• Though A&M did not connect on any threes in the first half (0-for-7), they found ways to score inside as Williams finished the first half with 14 points and 4 rebounds.

Second Half

• The second half began in a similar fashion to how the first half played out ^__ with the two teams trading baskets and neither grabbing much of a lead, as the score was tied at 31 with 15:44 remaining.
• The Bulldogs began to take control of the game on a big basket plus the foul by Brandon Houston, as the play sparked an 8-2 run to put Alabama A&M up 39-33 with 14:28 to play.
• The Tigers of Jackson State continued to hang around, fighting to get the deficit down to three in a 46-43 game.
• Alabama A&M used one final push to gain momentum once more and push to lead out to as big as ten on two separate occasions, with the last being a 60-50 lead with 1:22 to go before foul shooting put the finishing touches on the 66-57 win.

Post-Game Notes 

• Alabama A&M starters: Brandon Miller, Cameron Tucker, Garrett Hicks, TJ Parham, EJ Williams
• The Bulldogs shot 20-for-59 (33.9 percent) from the field as a team for the game, 1-for-13 (7.7 percent) from the three-point line and 25-for-30 from the charity stripe (83.3 percent).
• Alabama A&M outscored the Tigers in the lane, scoring 32 points in the paint compared to the 26 by Jackson State.
• The rebounding battle ended evenly at 40 each. The Bulldogs scored nine second chance points on 11 offensive rebounds, while the Tigers scored only four second chance points off of eight offensive boards.
• The Tiger bench outscored the Bulldog bench 21-16. Three Bulldogs scored at least six points off the bench.
• Turnovers: A&M continued their great care for the ball offensively as they won the turnover battle, forcing Jackson State into 12 turnovers and scoring six points off mistakes while only committing six and giving up four points off of their own.

Up Next
Alabama A&M will return home to Elmore for a two game home stand to face off against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. and Mississippi Valley on Monday, Jan. 13 at 7:30 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).