GRAMBLING, La. – Taylor Smith and Jayla Cody combined to score 10 points in the last three-plus minutes to help Alabama A&M push past Grambling State enroute to a 55-50 victory Thursday night in an important Southwestern Athletic Conference game inside the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
The Bulldogs improved to 14-13 overall and 12-5 in league play with the win. The Tigers fell to 8-19 and 7-9 with the loss.
A&M trailed 34-27 midway through the third quarter, but used an 8-3 run to pull within 37-35 going in the fourth quarter.
Grambling's Colbi Maples hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 46-43 advantage, but Smith and Cody keyed a 7-0 run to put the Bulldogs on top 50-46 with 1:18 remaining.
Smith's 3-pointer at the 3:16 mark tied the game at 46-all and Cody scored on a layup and hit two free throws to give the Bulldogs a four-point advantage.
After GSU cut it to 50-48 with 1:01 left, Amiah Simmons' jumper gave A&M a 52-48 lead with 35 seconds left. Maples' two free throws cut it to 52-50, but Smith hit two free throws with 20 seconds left to push the lead to 54-50 and after Maples missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, Smith was fouled and made a free throw with seven seconds left to seal the victory.
Amani Free (Clay, N.Y.) led three A&M players in double figures with 14 points. Smith (Fosters, AL) finished with 12 points, while Simmons (Osawatomie, KS) had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Darian Burgin and Cody had terrific all-around games. Burgin (Cincinnati, OH) had six points, 12 rebounds and three steals, while Cody (Valdosta, GA) had six points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
A&M shot 35.1 (20-of-57) percent from the field, including 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from 3-point range, and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the free throw line.
Miracle Saxon led Grambling with 16 points, while Maples and Phylicia Allen finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Tigers shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the field, including 20 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc, and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the charity stripe.
A&M visits Southern Saturday in its final game of the regular season.
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