HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – On the final night of play in Elmore Gymnasium, Alabama A&M (0-3, 0-0 SWAC) could not overcome a fast start and consistent offensive pressure as they fell 84-64 to Samford (4-0, 0-0 SoCon) in an NCAA Division I men's basketball game on Thursday, November 17.
 
Senior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) led the way for the Bulldogs with 14 points and four steals and  junior forward Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
Senior guard Cameron Tucker (Birmingham, Ala.) added nine points, four boards, three assists and a steal and sophomore guard Lorenzo Downey (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) finished with seven points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Graduate center Olisa Blaise Akonobi (Abuja, Nigeria) rounded out the top performers with seven boards to go with four points.
 
Samford started fast, taking an early 11-3 lead and extending it to 23-13 by the 6:51 mark before A&M responded. They would cut it to six, 24-18, little more than a minute later as they took five of the next six points. The rest of the half would see SU outscore A&M 16-11 – including 11-3 for a 35-21 lead at 3:07 – before closing the frame with a 40-29 lead at the half.
 
The more southern-based Bulldogs would then open up the final 20 minutes with another 11-3 burst, this time extending their lead to 19 points at 51-32 – just 2:47 into the half. Alabama A&M would narrow the gap to 52-39 with 14:08 on the clock but would get no closer than that 13-point margin the rest of the way. Samford would stretch the lead to 21 points on several occasions before putting the finishing touches on the 84-64 victory.
 
Achor Achor put up 18 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field to go with eight boards and Ques Glover finished with 16 points, six rebounds and an assist and a steal. Bubba Parham and A.J. Staton-Gray each had 13 points and seven caroms as well. Jermaine Marshall added eight points and six boards.
 
The Bulldogs head to Atlanta, Georgia to take on Norfolk State on Saturday, November 19. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on the campus of Morehouse College.
 
FULL GAME VIDEO