BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ^__ Alabama A&M men's basketball took down Southern 77-63 in the SWAC Tournament Quarterfinal round, led by 27 points from Messiah Thompson, including 5-for-9 from behind the arc in the game.
 
The Bulldogs never trailed and led by as many as 22 in the contest, held at Bartow Arena, along with winning their third straight game over Southern for the first time since a four-game streak over the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

Defense was prevalent to start the contest, with Alabama A&M holding Southern scoreless for the first six minutes of play, gaining a 5-0 lead at first media timeout at the 15:53 mark.
 
After a score from the Jaguars to get on the board a minute later, Garrett Hicks grabbed a steal and converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Bulldogs up 9-2 with 13:42 left in the half. Southern recovered to go on a 5-2 run over the next stretch of play, as they closed the gap to just 11-8 coming out of the next media break.
 
On the next trip down, A&M found their stroke again, with guard Messiah Thompson beating the shot clock on a deep three to regain some momentum. The long ball helped spark a 9-2 run over the next few minutes, including a second three from Thompson in the corner, before a pair of free throws from Hicks gave the Bulldogs their first double figure lead at 20-10 with just under eight minutes to play.
 
Coming out of the under eight media timeout, senior Cam Tucker hit his first three of the game to extend the lead and followed by another long-range jumper from Thompson and free throws from Hicks for a 29-14 edge. After a called timeout to save possession, Xavier Brewer put the Bulldogs up 32-17 lead after beating the shot clock with a three of his own, helping A&M hold on to a 36-23 lead at the close of the half.
 
The Bulldogs maintained control through the first stretch of play in the second, fighting off a Southern spurt to start the half, before heading into the under 16 break up 45-33. A&M continued their run after the timeout, extending their lead on a fast break score from Hicks to 20 at 54-34 with 12:35 remaining in the contest.
 
From there, Southern clawed back into the game again, using a 12-2 run to reduce the gap to 13 with just under nine minutes to play and just ten at 56-46 seconds later at the eight-minute mark before the next break in play.
 
After finding themselves up by just nine, Alabama A&M gained a double-figure advantage once more with a free throw from Hicks, however it was short-lived as Southern rebounded the last miss at the line and immediately converted the fast break score.
 
Back up ten with just over four minutes remaining, the Bulldogs made their final push, with three points from Hicks along with a score inside from Olisa Blaise Akonobi to force a Southern timeout with 1:19 to play. Southern made one last push of their own moving forward, however A&M finished the game at the free throw line, closing out the contest going 9-for-10 from the line in the final minute and change for the 77-63 win.

Hicks also finished in double figures on the night with 14 points and six rebounds, while Akonobi, Brewer and Lorenzo Downey all added seven points in the win.
 
Up Next
Alabama A&M will return to play on Friday, March 10 at 2 p.m. in the semifinal round of the SWAC Tournament, as they face the No. 8 seeded Texas Southern after the Tigers upset Alcorn State in the last round.
 
Follow the Bulldogs
Stay connected with Alabama A&M Men's Basketball on Instagram and Twitter (@Bulldogs_Hoops). For complete coverage of Alabama A&M athletics, follow on social media at @aamuathletics (Instagram) and @AAMUBulldogs on Twitter, and visit the official home of Alabama A&M University athletics at www.aamusports.com.