CLEVELAND, Ohio | Four Alabama A&M University men's basketball players reached double figures in scoring as the Bulldogs nearly rallied from 16 points down in the second half in a 82-71 loss to East Tennessee State in the Viking Invitational on Friday night at Woodling Gymnasium.
Alabama A&M (0-4) trailed 67-51 with 8:40 remaining, but the Bulldogs got as close as 73-67 with 3:32 left. However, East Tennessee State (3-3), which shot 41.9 percent (13-of-31) from behind the 3-point line, held off the late charge to pick up the win.
Dailin Smith scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half and was 11-of-12 from the free-throw line, along with six rebounds and one assist.
Omari Peek added 15 points, on 6-of-12 shooting, with four boards, two assists and one steal.
Caleb Blackwell and
Jayland Randall each recorded 10 points, while Blackwell finished with a team-high five assists.
Ebby Asamoah scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including going 9-of-12 from the foul line and three 3-pointers. He also added five rebounds, two assists and one block. Quimari Peterson could not miss in the first half, recording 16 points as he finished with 21 points, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and four boards, three assists, two steals and one block. Jaden Seymour registered 13 points, on 5-of-9 shooting, with six boards, four assists and two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M jumped out to 5-2 advantage after a
Lorenzo Downey triple with 17:10 remaining, but East Tennessee State answered and used a 9-0 run, capped by a Maki Johnson 3-pointer as the Bucs grabbed an 11-5 lead with just under 15 minutes to play.
The Bulldogs got a trey by Peek and two free throws by Randall as AAMU closed the gap to 11-10 with 13:30 left.
Alabama A&M outscored ETSU over the next four minutes as the Bulldogs took a 21-18 advantage off a
Dailin Smith layup with 8:58 remaining in the half.
Two free throws by Peek pushed the margin to 27-23 with just over six minutes left, but the Bucs responded with three straight 3-pointers by Peterson as ETSU took a 32-27 lead with 3:39 remaining.
Alabama A&M fell behind 38-31 after a Seymour layup with 1:23 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs snapped a five-plus minute shooting skid as Peek drained a jumper and
Caleb Blackwell sank a 3-pointer as Alabama A&M went into the half, trailing 38-36.
A jumper by Peek cut the deficit to 44-40 with just under 18 minutes to play, but 3-pointers by Peterson and Seymour pushed the margin to 50-40 with exactly 17 minutes to play.
The Bucs stretched the advantage to 60-58 after a Seymour bucket with 12:40 remaining.
Alabama A&M continued to battle back as Peek scored on a jumper, closing the margin to 65-51, but Asamoah scored on a layup at the other end as ETSU extended the lead to 67-51 with 8:46 left.
The Bulldogs got two free throws from Smith, followed by a layup as AAMU closed the margin to 69-59 with 6:50 remaining.
Alabama A&M, which trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, cut the deficit to 72-65, after free throws by Smith and
EJ Williams with 4:48 left.
A Peek jumper trimmed the margin to 73-67 with 3:32 remaining, but Asamoah completed a three-point play as the Bucs pushed the lead to 76-67 with just under three minutes to play.
However, the deficit proved to be too big as East Tennessee State held off the late charge to earn the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the floor and 84.0 percent (21-of-25) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs registered 34 rebounds, with 25 coming off the defensive glass
- Dailin Smith recorded 20 points, six rebounds and one assist
- Omari Peek added 15 points, four boards, two assists and one steal
- Caleb Blackwell and Jayland Randall each recorded 10 points
- The Bulldogs finished with 27 bench points, 22 points in the paint, 12 second-chance points, 11 fastbreak points and nine points off 11 ETSU turnovers
- East Tennessee State went 25-of-56 shooting (44.6 percent) and 19-of-29 (65.5 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Bucs pulled down 36 rebounds, with 13 coming on the offensive glass
- Ebby Asamoah sank three 3-pointers to register 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and one block
- Quimari Peterson sank four 3-pointers, to tally 21 points, four boards, three assists, two steals and one block
- Jaden Seymour chipped in 13 points, six boards, four assists and two steals
- The Bucs finished with 22 points in the paint, 18 points off 14 AAMU turnovers, 12 bench points, 10 second-chance points and four fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M wraps up its five-game road swing on Saturday in the Viking Invitational against host Cleveland State. Tip-off against the Vikings is set for 6 p.m. from Woodling Gymnasium and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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).
