GRAMBLING, La. __ The Alabama A&M men's basketball team dropped a 60-48 decision at Grambling State on Thursday night inside of Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
The Tigers (21-8, 14-3 SWAC), who entered the game leading the conference standings, never trailed in the contest.
Grambling gained control from the opening tip, jumping out to an 11-2 lead within the first six minutes of play. The Bulldogs found themselves down double figures for the first time at the 13-minute mark at 14-4, a lead that remained until a run to close out the first half to pull A&M within four at 28-24 at the break.
The Tigers led by as many as 14 in the first, while outscoring the Bulldogs in fast break points (7-0) and points off turnovers (11-5).
Alabama A&M made it a single possession game with a layup from
Messiah Thompson on the first trip down at 28-26, before Grambling started to pull away again with five straight points. Down by 11 with 12 minutes to go, the Bulldogs went on a 11-2 run to pull within a point at 43-42.
Grambling pushed their lead back out to nine not long after at 52-43 before another double figure lead at the 2:41 mark and a 55-45 lead. From there the Tigers remained in control, finishing with the 60-48.
The Bulldogs struggled to make shots, hitting only 3-of-17 from three-point range while shooting 34.5 (19-for-55) percent overall, denying A&M a chance to split the season series against the Tigers.
Olisa Blaise Akonobi led the way offensively with a game-high 16 points, the lone Bulldog in double figures.
Shawndarius Cowart and Cameron Christon led Grambling with 16 points each, while Jourdan Smith added 11 in the win.
Alabama A&M will travel to Baton Rouge with a matchup against Southern on Saturday, March 4 in the F.G. Clark Activity Center to close out the regular season.
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