CLEVELAND, Ohio | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball team could not recover from a slow start as the Bulldogs concluded their five-game road swing with a 86-59 loss to Cleveland State on Saturday night in the Viking Invitational at Woodling Gymnasium.
Alabama A&M (0-5) opened the game 3-of-13 shooting as Cleveland State jumped out to 21-11 lead with just under 11 minutes to play in the first half. The Vikings, who shot 57.7 percent in the first half, closed out the period on a 14-4 run over the final four minutes to take a 43-26 lead into the break.
Cleveland State (5-2) went 2-0 at the Viking Invitational to become tournament champions. East Tennessee State went 1-1 and Alabama A&M concluded the tournament at 0-2.
Dylan Mclean scored eight of his team-high 12 points in the second half, going 6-of-9 shooting, with two boards.
Dailin Smith chipped in 11 points, including going 5-of-7 from the free-throw line, with four boards, three assists and three steals.
Tae Williams and Drew Lowder paced the Vikings with 18 points each. Williams, who went 6-of-11 from the field, with four assists, three rebounds and one steal. Lowder went 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line, with four assists, two steals and one board. Tevin Smith scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half, going 8-of-8 from the foul line, with five boards and two steals, while Tristan Enaruna recorded 12 points, seven boards, four assists and one steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Cleveland State, which shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the floor in the first half, jumped out to a 7-4 advantage after a layup by Tevin Smith with 16:14 left in the opening half, but after two free throws by
Dailin Smith, Alabama A&M grabbed an 8-7 lead with 14:26 left.
The Bulldogs, who opened the game going 3-of-13 from the field, continued to struggle from the floor as the Vikings used an 11-2 run over the next three-plus minutes as Cleveland State took a 21-11 advantage after a Ramar Pryor layup with 10:53 remaining.
An
Omari Peek jumper closed the gap to 23-14 with just under nine minutes to play, but free throws by Chase Robinson pushed the lead back to double digits, 25-14, with 8:46 left.
The Vikings stretched the lead to 12 points, 27-15, but back-to-back buckets by
Dailin Smith cut the margin to 27-19 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.
AAMU continued to chip away at the CSU lead, cutting the deficit to 29-22 after an
EJ Williams free throw with 4:12 left.
However, Cleveland State used a 14-4 run over the final four minutes to take a 43-26 lead into the break.
Cleveland State opened the second half with eight straight points in extending its advantage to 51-26 with 18:28 remaining.
The Vikings continued to push the margin, increasing the lead to 68-40 after a pair of free throws by Enaruna with 10:03 to play.
Alabama A&M closed the gap to 72-54 after a layup by Mclean with just under five minutes to play and never got any closer than 17 points (67-59) down the stretch.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the field and 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs registered 32 rebounds, including 18 on the offensive glass
- Dylan Mclean recorded a team-high 12 points and two rebounds
- Dailin Smith chipped in 11 points, four boards, three assists and three steals
- The Bulldogs finished with 30 points in the paint, 29 bench points, 20 points off 17 CSU turnovers, 13 second-chance points and 13 fastbreak points
- Cleveland went 28-of-50 shooting (56.0 percent) and 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Vikings registered 35 rebounds, with 25 coming on the defensive glass
- Tae Williams scored 18 points, four assists, two steals and one rebound
- Drew Lowder chipped in 18 points, four assists, two steals and one board
- Tevin Smith added 16 points, with five boards and two steals
- Tristan Enaruna recorded 12 points, seven boards, four assists and one steal
- The Vikings finished with 32 points in the paint, 25 points off 20 AAMU turnovers, 20 fastbreak points, 18 bench points and nine second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M wrapped up its five-game road swing and will have its regular season home opener on Wednesday against Tennessee State. Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 7 p.m. from the AAMU Event Center and fans can watch the action live on Bulldogs All-Access.
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).
