HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Five players scored in double figures as the Alabama A&M University men's basketball team rallied from as many as 12 points in the second half and won an overtime thriller, 85-83, against Tennessee State to pick up its first win of the season on Wednesday night at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (1-5) trailed 50-38 with 15:51 remaining and withstood a late charge in overtime to earn its first win. Tennessee State (5-3) had an opportunity to win the game, but Jaylan Jones' layup rimmed in and out and the Bulldogs ran out of the clock.
Omari Peek led the way for Alabama A&M with a team-high 20 points, on 6-of-11 shooting, with three rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.
Dailin Smith scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including going 11-of-14 from the foul line, along with five boards, one assist and one steal.
Lorenzo Downey added 12 points, a team-high six boards, one assist, one steal and one block, while
Caleb Blackwell tallied 11 points, five boards and a team-high four assists.
Dylan Mclean chipped in 10 points, five boards and one steal.
Kinyon Hodges and EJ Bellinger paced Tennessee State with 19 points each. Hodges added six rebounds, five steals and four assists, while Bellinger chipped in four boards, one assist and one steal. Christian Brown tallied 17 points, a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. Jones recorded 13 points, including seven free throws, six assists, six boards and one steal.
Gallery: (11-29-2023) Alabama A&M vs. Tennessee State
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams started strong from the floor as Alabama A&M jumped out to a 9-7 lead after a Downey putback layup with 16:38 remaining in the opening half.
However, Tennessee State responded with an 11-2 run, capped by a Hodges triple as the Tigers took an 18-11 lead with just over 13 minutes to play.
The Bulldogs answered with an 8-2 run, closing the gap to 20-19 after a pair of free throws by
William Tavares with just over nine minutes remaining in the half.
The Tigers got a 3-pointer by Knute Wood and an alley-oop dunk by Hodges as Tennessee State stretched the lead to 25-19 with 7:53 left.
Alabama A&M went cold from the floor, going more than seven minutes without a bucket as TSU built a 31-21 advantage after a jumper by Hodges with 2:56 remaining.
An
AC Bryant dunk ended the scoring drought for the Bulldogs as AAMU cut the deficit to 32-23 with just over two minutes left in the half.
Bryant's dunk sparked eight straight points by Alabama A&M as
Caleb Blackwell and Downey drained back-to-back 3-pointers as the Bulldogs closed the gap to 35-29with 1:02 remaining.
Free throws by Jones with six seconds left sent the Tigers into the break with a 37-29 lead.
Alabama A&M closed the margin to 41-36 after a three-point play by
Dylan Mclean, but Tennessee State answered with a 9-2 run, capped by a Bellinger layup with just over 16 minutes to play as the Tigers build a 40-38 advantage.
The Bulldogs got free throws by
Chad Moodie, a three-point play by
Dailin Smith and a layup by
Jayland Randall as Alabama A&M cut the deficit to 50-45 with 14:37 remaining.
AAMU continued to chip away at the TSU lead as Downey drained a long triple, cutting the margin to 53-49 with exactly 13 minutes to play.
After a Hodge dunk in transition, Downey continued his long-range assault with a 3-pointer as Alabama A&M trailed, 56-54 with 10:36 left.
The Bulldogs grabbed their first lead since the 17-minute mark of the first half, 58-56, after a pair of free throws by Smith with 8:52 remaining.
The two teams continued to trade leads as Mclean and Blackwell scored on back-to-back buckets as Alabama A&M took a 67-62 lead with just under four minutes to play.
Tennessee State kept the game close as Bellinger scored on a layup, cutting the deficit to 71-70 with 1:45 left.
Free throws by Smith pushed AAMU's lead to 73-70 with 1:22 remaining, but TSU answered at the other end as Jones sank a pair, keeping the Bulldogs lead at one point, 73-72, with 1:06 left.
TSU trailed 75-72 before Christian Brown drained a 3-pointer from the corner, tying the game at 75 with 21 seconds left.
Alabama A&M elected to play for the final shot, but Peek turned the ball over and as time wound down, Jones' shot was blocked at the buzzer by Downey, sending the game into overtime.
In the extra frame, Peek's jumper gave AAMU an 80-77 lead with 2:46 remaining, but Brown's layup kept the game close at 80-79 with just over two and a half minutes to play.
After trading free throws, Bellinger's triple gave TSU an 83-82 lead with 48 seconds remaining, but Blackwell answered with a tough layup as Alabama A&M grabbed the 84-83 advantage with 33 seconds left.
On Tennessee State's next offensive possession, Jones turned the ball over with 17 seconds left and was forced to foul.
Peek sank 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with 16 seconds and Jones' layup rimmed in and out and the Bulldogs ran out the clock for the first win of the season.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the floor and 79.5 percent (31-of-39) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs registered 41 rebounds, with 28 coming off the defensive glass
- Omari Peek recorded a team-high 20 points, three rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot
- Dailin Smith scored all 13 of his points in the second half, with five boards, one assist and one steal
- Lorenzo Downey added 12 points, a team-high six boards, one assist, one steal and one block
- Caleb Blackwell tallied 11 points, five boards and a team-high four assists
- Dylan Mclean chipped in 10 points, five boards and one steal.
- The Bulldogs finished with 38 points in the paint, 34 bench points, 14 fastbreak points, , 14 second-chance points and 14 points off 16 TSU turnovers.
- Tennessee State went 29-of-70 (41.4 percent) from the field and 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Tigers registered 42 rebounds, with 17 coming on the offensive glass
- Kinyon Hodges added 19 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists
- EJ Bellinger chipped in 19 points, four boards, one assist and one steal
- Christian Brown tallied 17 points, a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and one steal
- Jones recorded 13 points, six assists, six boards and one steal.
- The Tigers finished with 38 points in the paint, 24 bench points, 21 second-chance points, 15 points off of 16 AAMU turnovers and 11 fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M returns to the road as the Bulldogs visit Vanderbilt on Saturday. Tip-off against the Commodores is set for 4 p.m. from Historic Memorial Gymnasium and will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
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).
