ITTA BENA, Miss. – Alabama A&M (3-9, 2-0 SWAC) defeated Mississippi Valley State (0-12, 0-2 SWAC) in an NCAA Division I men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 5. 

Junior forward Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the Bulldogs with 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting and 14 rebounds while sophomore guard Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had 15 points, two assists and six boards. Junior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala) chipped in with 14 points, two assists and six rebounds while junior guard Cameron Tucker (Birmingham, Ala.) added 12 points, four assists and six boards.
 
Over the first 14 minutes the Bulldogs jumped out to a 27-15 lead that included 11 points from Smith, eight from Johnson and seven from Hicks. For the remainder of the frame the Delta Devils would score 12 of 18 to close the gap to 33-27 heading into halftime.
 
MVSU would build momentum in the second half, registering a 25-19 rally over 14 minutes with Devin Gordon scoring 16 points that included five treys to tie the game at 52-52. AAMU would respond with a 6-0 burst to lead 58-52 with 6:58 showing on the clock.
 
The Delta Devils would then use the next five minutes to produce a 15-10 advantage to close the gap and trail by one, 68-67, before the Bulldogs slowly expanded their margin. They would then use the 1:37 left on the clock to outscore Mississippi Valley State with a 4-0 run that included a layup from Johnson and two secured free throws from Tucker before closing out the 72-67 victory.
 
Gordon would lead MVSU with a game high 32 points and four rebounds with Robert Carpenter following with 17 points, three assists and five boards. Gary Grant added nine points and eight rebounds while Caleb Hunter finished with eight points and five boards to round out the top performers.
 
Alabama A&M will return home to face Alcorn State on Saturday, January 8. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Elmore Gymnasium.