BATON ROUGE, La. – Alabama A&M (5-15, 4-6 SWAC) dropped a 73-64 decision at Southern (13-9, 8-2 SWAC) in an NCAA Division I men's basketball game on Saturday, February 5.
 
Junior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) led the Bulldogs with a game-high 25 points, four steals and four rebounds while junior forward Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.)  finished with 19 points, 10 boards and two assists. Junior guard Cameron Tucker (Birmingham, Ala.) chipped in with eight points, five assists and six rebounds while freshman guard Jabiri Smith (Duluth, Ga.) added four points and two rebounds.
 
The Jaguars started strong, jumping out to a 25-14 lead that included six points from P.J. Byrd and five from Tyrone Lyons within the first 13 minutes of play. The Bulldogs would respond with a mini 6-3 run that consisted of four points from Johnson to try and close the gap to 28-20 at the 5:21 minute mark.
 
For the remainder of the frame SU would score the next 13 of 23 points that consisted of two treys to stretch the score to 41-30 heading into the break.
 
AAMU would start the second half with a 22-9 rally that included Hicks and Johnson scoring six points each to narrow the gap to 52-50 with 12:13 showing on the clock. At that point, the Jaguars would continue to outscore the Bulldogs with a 21-14 run with Terrell Williams Jr. contributing 10 points to close out the 73-64 decision.
 
Brion Whitley led Southern with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals while Williams Jr. finished with 12 points, nine boards and three assists. Byrd notched 11 points, two boards, six assists and two steals and Isaiah Rollins had 11 points, two rebounds and three steals to round out the top performers.
 
The Bulldogs are right back in action on Monday, February 7 as they will face off against Grambling. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Willis Reed Court.