Box Score PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Junior Messiah Thompson (Atlanta, Ga.) led Alabama A&M to their second consecutive road win, scoring 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-9 from long range in a 75-72 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday evening inside of the H.O. Clemmons Arena.
 
The Bulldogs (11-15,7-6 SWAC) opened the game on a five-point run behind free throws from center EJ Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio) and a jumper from Thompson inside the first minute of play.
 
Arkansas-Pine Bluff tied the game at 7-7 with just over 17 minutes to go in the half and following a score inside from Cameron Tucker (Birmingham, Ala.) gained their first lead at 10-9 a minute later. From there, A&M responded with 14 unanswered points in route to a 23-10 lead at the 9:36 mark, the first double-digit lead of the game.
 
The Golden Lions ended the scoring drought a few minutes later with a score inside, before reducing the lead to just two with a run of their own and later taking a 31-29 edge into the half. The opening period proved to be a balanced contest, experiencing five ties and three lead changes over the first 20 minutes.
 
After finding themselves down 34-29 a minute into the half, Thompson helped the Bulldogs surge back to tie the game, 37-37, with a pair of threes on the next two offensive possessions. UAPB followed with six straight points of their own and later gained a 47-40 edge with just under 15 remaining.
 
From there A&M fought back once again, getting within two points on three separate occasions over the next few minutes, before regaining the lead after a three from Lorenzo Downey (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) and free throws from Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Co.) to go up 58-56, the final lead change of the contest.
 
Later in the half, Thompson hit his sixth three of the game to put the Bulldogs up 63-59 heading into the final media timeout and was followed later by threes from Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) and Smith gave A&M control with just over two minutes to play at 69-61.
 
Trailing 74-69 lead with 46 seconds remaining, UAPB scored inside off a timeout on their next possession to cut the lead to three, however Tucker put the game out of reach with a free throw to secure the win.
 
Chris Green scored a game-high 31 points on 10-for-13 shooting and eight threes for UAPB, while Shaunn Doss Jr. added 21 points, including 13-of-14 from the free throw line in the loss.
 
Following Thompson in the scoring book was Smith at 13 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists in 33 minutes, while Hicks and Tucker both added nine points in the win. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs outscored the Golden Lions in bench points (17-10), points in the paint (24-18), points off turnovers (15-13), and second chance points (9-7).
 
Up Next
Alabama A&M will return to Huntsville for their next matchup as they host Bethune-Cookman inside of the Event Center on Saturday, February 18, with the second half of the conference doubleheader set for 5 p.m.
 
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