HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | Dailin Smith scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the first half, but the Alabama A&M University men's basketball team came out of the gate slowly in the second half as UAB used a big run to pull away for the 93-82 victory on Wednesday at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (1-9) went into the break tied at 45. However, UAB (5-5) came out in the second half on a 16-3 run and didn't look back in improving to 16-0 all-time against the Bulldogs.
Smith went 8-of-14 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line to finish with a career-high 27 points, four rebounds and one steal.
Jayland Randall recorded 13 points and four boards, while
Omari Peek added 12 points, two boards, two assists and one block.
Yaxel Lendeborg paced UAB with 13 of his team-high 16 points in the first half, along with a game-high 15 rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks. Eric Gaines chipped in 15 points, a team-high seven assists and three boards, while Efrem Johnson added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, with four assists and three boards. Javian Davis and Daniel Ortiz each tallied 11 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UAB jumped out to a quick 10-5 advantage after a triple by Efrem Johnson with just under 16 minutes to play in the first half.
Alabama A&M answered and cut the deficit to 14-12 after a three-point play by
Dailin Smith and tied the game at 15 after an
Omari Peek trey with 11:17 remaining.
The Blazers responded by using an 11-3 run over the next three and a half minutes, capped by a Tony Toney jumper as UAB grabbed a 26-18 advantage with just over eight minutes left.
It didn't take much time for the Bulldogs to trim the margin as Smith, Tucker and
Jayland Randall helped AAMU score the next six points in cutting the deficit to 26-24 with 6:57 remaining.
The Bulldogs trailed 32-29 before reeling off free throws by Smith and a triple by
Caleb Blackwell as Alabama A&M grabbed a 34-32 lead with just under five minutes left in the half.
With the game tied at 40, UAB got a 3-pointer by Daniel Ortiz with 1:35 remaining but Alabama A&M scored the next five points on free throws by Tucker and
Dylan Mclean as the Bulldogs took a 45-43 lead.
However, as time expired to end the half, Johnson was fouled and made a pair as the two teams went into the break tied at 45.
The Blazers opened the second half on fire, using an 16-3 run, capped by an Eric Gaines layup as UAB took a 59-48 lead with 16:40 left.
The lead grew to 15, 65-50, after a dunk by Lendeborg and free throw by Gaines with 14:35 remaining.
Alabama A&M went cold from the floor, going more than three minutes without a field goal as UAB extended the advantage to 77-58 after two free throws by Christian Coleman with 9:11 left.
Alabama A&M never got any closer 11 points down the stretch.
Gallery: (12-13-2023) Alabama A&M vs. UAB
GAME NOTES
Alabama A&M shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field and 85.0 percent (9-of-22) from the free-throw line
AAMU pulled down 27 rebounds, with 10 coming on the offensive glass
Dailin Smith registered 27 points, with four rebounds and one steal
Jayland Randall recorded 13 points and four boards
Omari Peek added 12 points, two boards, two assists and one block
The Bulldogs finished with 24 points in the paint, 18 fastbreak points, 17 bench points, 16 second-chance points and 15 points off 11 UAB turnovers
UAB went 30-of-60 (50.0 percent) from the floor and 25-of-36 (69.4 percent) from the charity stripe
The Blazers grabbed 42 rebounds, including 24 off the defensive glass
Yaxel Lendeborg posted a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds, with four assists, four steals and three blocks
Eric Gaines chipped in 15 points, a team-high seven assists and three boards
Efrem Johnson added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, with four assists and three boards
Javian Davis and Daniel Ortiz each tallied 11 points
The Blazers finished with 42 points in the paint, 31 bench points, 25 fastbreak points, 23 second-chance points and 21 points off 12 AAMU turnovers
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M closes out its home non-conference slate on Saturday against UT-Chattanooga. Tip-off against the Mocs is set for 7 p.m. from the AAMU Event Center and is streamed 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).
