AUBURN, Ala. | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball team got off to a slow start and could not recover as the Bulldogs fell, 84-54, to Auburn on Tuesday night at Neville Arena.
 
Alabama A&M (0-3) fell behind 12-0 during the first four minutes and trailed 28-10 with just under eight minutes remaining in the opening half. Auburn (4-1) used a 21-1 run during the final 6:04 of the first half and took a commanding 49-15 advantage into the break.
 
Chad Moodie paced the Bulldogs with nine points, a team-high seven rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and one steal. Eric Lee added eight points, two boards and one steal. Dailin Smith, AC Bryant and Dylan Mclean each recorded seven points.
 
Chaney Johnson led Auburn with 15 points, on 6-of-8 shooting, along with four rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot. Aden Holloway added 13 points, two assists and one board. Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams registered 10 points each, while Dylan Cardwell pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Auburn, which shot a blistering 52.9 percent (18-of-34) in the first half, opened the game on a 12-0 run, capped by a dunk by Williams with just under 16 minutes to play in the first half.
 
Alabama A&M, which struggled in the first half, shooting 23.1 percent (6-of-26), trimmed the deficit to 14-5 after a triple by William Tavares with 13:29 left, but the Tigers stretched the margin to 23-8 after a dunk by Cardwell with 9:44 remaining.
 
Lee scored on back-to-back buckets as the Bulldogs cut the margin to 28-14 with just over six minutes to play.
 
However, Alabama A&M went cold from the floor, going more than five-plus minutes without a point as Auburn closed the first half on a 21-1 run, taking a commanding 49-15 advantage into the break.
 
The Tigers continued their offensive pressure as Broome scored on an alley-oop dunk as Auburn pushed the margin to 60-19 with 15:14 remaining.
 
Alabama A&M, which outscored Auburn in the second half, 39-35, could not recover from the huge deficit during the last 15 minutes as the Tigers cruised to its fourth win.
 
GAME NOTES

• Alabama A&M shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the field and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the free-throw line
• The Bulldogs registered 27 rebounds, including 21 on the defensive glass
• Chad Moodie recorded a team-high nine points and seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal
• Eric Lee added eight points, two boards and one steal
• Dailin Smith, AC Bryant and Dylan Mclean each recorded seven points
• The Bulldogs finished with 41 bench points, 28 bench points, 15 points off 13 Auburn turnovers, 13 fastbreak points and two second-chance points
• Auburn went 26-of-55 shooting (47.3 percent) and 26-of-36 (72.2 percent) from the charity stripe
• The Tigers registered 48 rebounds, with 13 coming on the offensive glass
• Chaney Johnson tallied 15 points, four boards, two steals and one block
• Aden Holloway added 13 points, two assists and one board
•  Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams registered 10 points each
• Dylan Cardwell pulled down a game-high nine rebounds
• The Tigers finished with 49 bench points, 40 points in the paint, 20 fastbreak points, 16 second-chance points and 13 points off 14 AAMU turnovers

UP NEXT  
Alabama A&M continues its road swing as the Bulldogs visit Cleveland, Ohio for the Viking Invitational Friday and Saturday. AAMU will meet East Tennessee State at 6 p.m. on Friday and host Cleveland State at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Woodling Gymnasium.
 
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics, check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics) and Twitter (@_aamuathletics).
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