HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – In what would be a game of runs, Alabama A&M (0-1, 0-0 SWAC) came up just short as they fell 84-76 to North Alabama (2-0, 0-0 ASUN) in their 2022-23 opener in an NCAA Division I men's basketball game on Thursday, November 10.
 
Senior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) dropped 18 points on 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc while senior center EJ Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio) delivered an all-around game with 13 points, six boards, five assists and a block.
 
Junior guard Messiah Thompson (Atlanta, Ga.) finished with 12 points, four assists, three caroms and a pair of steals and graduate guard Brandon Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) added eight rebounds. Junior forward Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) came away with six points, three boards, two blocks and a pair of steals and senior guard Cameron Tucker (Birmingham, Ala.) chipped in with seven points to round out the top performers.
 
A&M would score the first six points to jump out to an early 8-2 lead before UNA exploded for a 12-3 run to pull ahead 14-11 by the 12:59 mark. Sophomore forward Austin Harvell (Athens, Ala.) drained a three 20 seconds later to squelch that run but Will Soucie keyed a 10-0 burst with six points to put the Lions up 24-14 with 7:36 to play.
 
Graduate center Olisa Blaise Akonobi (Abuja, Nigeria) then notched a pair of buckets to spark a 9-0 run that closed the gap to 24-23 with just under three minutes left in the half. That would be as close as they would get in the opening frame, however, as four different scorers for UNA put together an 11-3 run to take a 35-26 lead into the break.
 
The Bulldogs would come out firing in the second half, delivering a 7-0 burst capped by a Hicks triple to narrow the margin to 35-33 over the first 2:13. It would continue to be a game of runs, however, as North Alabama answered with a dominant 14-0 run over the next two and a half minutes as Dallas Howell and Daniel Ortiz each hit a pair of threes to make it 49-33.
 
UNA would maintain that 16-point advantage with 12:36 on the clock but the Bulldogs would once again respond. This time that would come in the form of Williams delivering seven points and Hicks knocking down back-to-back treys to slice the deficit all the way down to 63-59 with 8:17 to play.
 
Following an Ortiz free throw sophomore center William Tavares de Brito (Republic of Cabo Verde) threw down a dunk to pull to within three. Trailing 67-61, Thompson drilled a three to get back to that three-point margin only to see UNA extend to 71-64 with 4:21 left.
 
A&M would not go away, however, as they fought back to within four twice, the last at 75-71 with 2:45 on the clock before the Lions salted away the 84-76 victory by taking nine of the final 14 points.
 
Soucie led North Alabama with 18 points and five boards and Ortiz matched him with 18 points, going 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Damian Forrest just missed a double-double with eight points and 10 caroms in 21 minutes while Howell knocked down three treys to finish with 11 points. KJ Johnson rounded out the top performers with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
 
Alabama A&M returns to action on Monday, November 14 when they travel to Tennessee State. Game time is set for 8 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee.

FULL GAME VIDEO

-