HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ^__ Alabama A&M men's basketball dropped a Monday night contest against Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponent Florida A&M, 77-71, inside the Event Center on ESPNU.
 
The Bulldogs led early in the back-and-forth affair, jumping out to a 9-4 lead with just over three minutes into the play, before finding the game tied at 9-9 at the 15-minute mark.
 
Florida A&M continued its stretch of strong play over the next few possessions, taking a 17-12 lead after the under-12 media break, however Alabama A&M rebounded later, climbing back to within a single point at 19-18 with 7:46 to play in the half.
 
The game was tied again at 24-24 with under five minutes to play after a basket inside from the Rattlers and tied again nearly a minute later after threes from both sides heading into the final media timeout of the half.
 
From there, the Bulldogs closed the half on a high note, led by scores from Lorenzo Downey (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) and five points from Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) to gain a five-point lead, 37-32, at halftime.
 
The hard-fought battle continued in the second half as Florida A&M reduced the lead to a point at 39-38 before a score inside from Olisa Blaise Akonobi (Abuja, Nigeria) for one of his five field goals on the night. The Rattlers took their first lead of the half with a layup a minute later, however the teams continued to go back-and-forth heading into the first media break with the Bulldogs trailing 47-45.
 
Akonobi scored another three points on the next few possessions to give Alabama A&M a lead once more, however it was short-lived with a response from Florida A&M. The game remained close, with neither team gaining a significant lead, as the Rattlers gained an advantage at the seven-minute mark and held on by a small margin until consecutive scores to put them up eight at 65-57 with 4:36 to play.
 
The Rattlers held on through the remainder despite the efforts of Alabama A&M, who could not overcome the late deficit in the 77-71 loss.
 
Akonobi finished the game with a double-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks, while Downey and Hicks both scored 13 points in the contest. Meanwhile, Jordan Tillmon led Florida A&M with a game-high 22 points along with five rebounds, followed by Dimingus Stevens and Noah Meren with 17 and 14 points respectively.
 
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