BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama A&M (1-6, 0-0 SWAC) could not hold off a late rally as they dropped a 52-50 decision in the final minutes at Samford (8-2, 0-0 SoCon) in an NCAA Division I men's basketball game on Saturday, December 11.
 
Junior forward Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the Bulldogs with 18 points and eight rebounds while junior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) had 12 points, four boards and two assists. Sophomore guard Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had nine points and three rebounds while freshman guard Eric Lee (Tampa, Fla.) chipped in with three points, six boards and two steals.
 
With A&M holding a slight 6-4 advantage after the first three minutes SU flipped the switch with a 12-8 run to take a 16-14 lead with 10:09 remaining on the clock.
 
 AAMU would then use a 15-9 burst that included five points from Smith and four from Johnson to take charge over the back half of the opening frame. That stretch would then send them to the break leading 29-25.

Samford would start the second half by scoring 19 of the the first 31 points within the first 13 minutes with Jermaine Marshall notching seven of those. That would put them ahead 42-40 before the Bulldogs used a 7-2 mini run to retake the lead 47-44, at 5:07.
 
SU would then slowly overtake the Bulldogs with a 7-1 run that included a trey from Cooper Kaifes and four points from Jaron Rillie to push the score to 51-48  during the next  four minutes before Marshall secured a free throw that would be the final point of the game to close out the 52-50 victory.
 
Marshall would lead the Bulldogs with a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds while Rillie notched 11 points and three assists. Wesley Cardet added 11 points and four rebounds and Kaifes finished with eight points, three boards and two steals to round out the top performers.
 
Alabama A&M returns to action on Tuesday, December 14 as they will face off against Troy. That game is set for 6 p.m. at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama.