HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ^__ Guard Messiah Thompson (Atlanta, Ga.) led the way for the Alabama A&M men's basketball program with 17 points and three steals, including going 4-for-8 from long range in a 55-50 win over Alabama State inside the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Saturday evening.
 
The Bulldogs opened the game with a 4-0 lead after a dunk from Olisa Blaise Akonobi (Abuja, Nigeria) and jumper from Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.), before finding themselves trailing for the first time at 8-6 at the media timeout.
 
A&M tied the game twice over the next few possessions, the first at 8-8 after a pair of free throws from EJ Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio) followed by tying the game at 11-11 on a three from Thompson.
 
Hicks hit his first three of the night at the 11:11 mark to give the Bulldogs the first multiple score lead on either side, however Alabama State responded, and the game remained close through the half, with A&M leading 30-29 at the break. The lead changed hands four times over the first 20 minutes of play, along with the game being tied six ties in the period.
 
Both teams struggled to score to open the second half, as Thompson made the first basket on either side with a layup inside with just under 17 minutes to play. From there, the lead changed hands twice over the next minute after a three from ASU to go up 35-34, before a 5-0 run put the Hornets up 40-35 at the 12:33 mark.
 
Cameron Tucker (Birmingham, Ala.) tied the game at 40-40 a minute later, before another three from the Hornets to regain the lead. At the 7:19 mark, Thompson hit his fourth three of the game to put the Bulldogs up 45-43.
 
After Alabama State tied the game once again at the 4:16 mark with another three from Roland McCoy to make the score 49-49, Tucker sank a pair of free throws after drawing a foul to regain the lead for A&M.
 
Both teams struggled to score from that point on, as Hicks sank four straight free throws with under 10 seconds to play to secure the 55-50 rivalry win.
 
Two other Bulldogs scored in double figures behind Thompson, including Hicks with 14 and seven rebounds, followed by Akonobi with ten points on 5-for-7 shooting and five boards in the contest.
 
A&M shot 39.6 (19-for-48) percent from the floor, 31.3 (5-for-16) percent from deep and 63.2 (12-for-19) percent from the free throw line, while holding the Hornets to just 30 percent from both the field and three-point range for the game.
 
Roland McCoy was the lone double-digit performer for ASU, finishing with a game-high 18 points on the day.
 
Up Next
Alabama A&M will take their final regular season road trip next weekend, starting with a matchup against Grambling State on Thursday, March 2. Tip-off for the second leg of the doubleheader is set for 7 p.m. inside the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
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