DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Alabama A&M men's basketball was unable to overcome a tough night defensively as they fell to Bethune-Cookman, 88-77, inside the Moore Gymnasium on Monday evening.
Alabama A&M (8-14, 4-5 SWAC) never led in the contest and trailed by as many as 17 points in the loss.
Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) led the way offensively with 22 points and three steals, followed by 15 points from
Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Co.) and another double-double from
Olisa Blaise Akonobi (Abuja, Nigeria) with 10 points and 10 boards on the day.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early edge, jumping out 9-2 a few minutes in before holding a 22-19 lead at the under-12 timeout. A&M made three free throws soon after to pull within a point, however Bethune-Cookman responded to control momentum for the rest of the half, taking a 46-41 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs climbed back to within a point a minute into the second half, 46-45, before finding themselves down double digits for the first time at 63-51 with just under 13 minutes to play. From there, A&M cut the deficit to eight at the 9:05 mark but could not flip the momentum as Bethune-Cookman took the 88-77 win.
Alabama A&M finished the game shooting 42.9 (27-for-63) percent overall from the floor and just 30.4 (7-for-23) percent from long range on the day. Meanwhile, the Rattlers finished the game with splits of 53.6 (30-for-56) percent from the field, 52.6 (10-for-19) percent from three, and 54.5 (18-for-33) percent from the free throw line.
Bethune-Cookman also led in many of the major points of emphasis, outscoring A&M in bench points (31-19), fast break points (24-23), and points in the paint (32-28).
Up Next
Alabama A&M will return home to host Southern in a conference doubleheader on Saturday, February 4 inside the Event Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
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