BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – No. 5 seed Alabama A&M (12-18, 10-8 SWAC) dropped a 69-64 decision against No. 1 seed Alcorn State (17-15, 14-4 SWAC) in a Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal and an NCAA Division I men's basketball game on Friday, March 11. This was the Bulldogs first appearance in the semifinals since March 14, 2014.
Junior forward
Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the Bulldogs with 20 points and 11 rebounds while junior guard
Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) also had 20 points with three boards. Junior guard
Cameron Tucker added eight points, three rebounds and three assists while sophomore guard
Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had six points, seven boards and three steals.
Over the first three minutes the Bulldogs built a narrow 8-4 lead before the Braves scored 11 of 19 to close the gap and trail by one, 16-15 with 11:23 remaining on the clock. For the remainder of the frame AAMU would respond with a 21-15 rally that included 14 points from Hicks with four treys to increase their lead to 37-30 heading into halftime.
Alcorn State would start the second half with a bang registering a 16-6 rally over six minutes to flip the switch and take the advantage, 46-43. The Bulldogs would respond with a 14-8 run that consisted of six points from Hicks to once again take the lead 57-54 with 7:35 showing on the clock.
The Braves would then use the next two minutes to unleash a 7-0 rally to flip the switch and take the lead, 61-57. For the remainder of the frame Alcorn State would score eight of 15 that included four points from Justin Thomas to secure the 69-64 decision.
Thomas would lead the Braves with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists with Dominic Brewton following with 15 points and 11 boards. Keondre Montgomery added 14 points while Darrious Agnew finished with nine points and three boards to round out the top performers.
The Bulldogs close the 2021-22 season with 12 overall wins and 10 in the SWAC including a six game win streak.