HUNTSVILLE – The Alabama A&M men's basketball team earned a crucial win on Monday evening to gain their third Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) win as they took down Prairie View A&M by a score of 67-59 inside of the Event Center.
 
Alabama A&M (7-13, 3-4 SWAC) came out strong to open the contest, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead at the 16:30 mark behind scores from EJ Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio), Messiah Wells (Atlanta, Ga.) and Olisa Blaise Akonobi (Abuja, Nigeria), before the Panthers pulled the score to 7-4 a minute later.
 
The Bulldogs made their second three of the game on the next possession on a jumper from Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.), however the Panthers clawed their way back to tie the game at 12-12 and later take a 14-12 lead with just over 13 minutes to go.
 
A&M retook the lead after a layup plus the foul from Hicks and despite a short run from PVAMU extended their lead to a nine at 27-18 at the under eight timeout. From there, they took their first double-digit advantage of the game at 29-18 on a score off a turnover from Brandon Powell (Huntsville, Ala.).
 
The Panthers made another push over the next few minutes to reduce the lead before Lorenzo Downey (Nova Scotia, Canada) hit a three off a steal from Eric Lee (Tampa, Fla.) to put the Bulldogs back up double-digits and they closed out the first half up 37-27.
 
Alabama A&M continued to grow their lead early in the second, as they led by 13 with 16 minutes to go and later by 17 at 47-30 at the 14:32 mark. After staging off another push from the Panthers, the Bulldogs eventually earned a game-high 20-point lead (63-43) with just under five minutes to play.
 
Following the final media timeout, Prairie View made a final push to get back in the game reducing the lead to 10 once again with 40 seconds left, however Alabama A&M held on at the final buzzer, taking the 67-59 win.
 
The Bulldogs displayed a balanced offensive attack on the night, led by Akonobi who recorded a double-double with 13 points, 11 boards and four blocks, while Hicks also added 13 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Four other players scored at least seven points in the win.
 
Meanwhile, A&M finished the game shooting 48.1 (25-for-52) percent from the field, 50 (7-for-14) percent from deep, and 52.6 (10-for-19) from the free throw line.
 
Up Next
Alabama A&M will travel to Florida for a two-game stint starting this weekend, starting with a game against Florida A&M on Saturday, January 28. Tip-off has been set for the second game of the doubleheader for 4 p.m. ET inside of the Al Lawson Center.
 
Follow The Bulldogs
Stay connected with Alabama A&M Men's Basketball on Instagram and Twitter (@Bulldogs_Hoops). For complete coverage of Alabama A&M athletics, follow on social media at @aamuathletics (Instagram) and @AAMUBulldogs on Twitter, and visit the official home of Alabama A&M University athletics at www.aamusports.com.