PINE BLUFF, Ark. | Omari Peek finished just two points shy of tying his career high as the Alabama A&M University men's basketball team snapped a seven-game losing streak and picked up its first road win of the season with a 63-62 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opener on Saturday night at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
Alabama A&M (2-12 overall, 1-0 SWAC) got a putback bucket by
Lorenzo Downey with 30 seconds remaining as the Bulldogs held a 63-59 lead. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-9, 0-1) got a 3-pointer by Lonnell Martin with 19 seconds left and had an opportunity to win the game but could not get a shot off as the Bulldogs picked up a huge road victory.
Peek was the lone Alabama A&M player in double figures, registered 21 points, on 8-of-12 shooting, with six rebounds. Downey tallied eight points, a career-high 13 boards, with three assists and one block.
Cameron Tucker,
Dailin Smith,
EJ Williams and
William Tavares each added six points.
Martin led three Golden Lions players in double figures with 20 points, two assists, one rebound and one steal. Ismael Plet added 15 points, seven boards, four steals and one block, while Kylen Milton chipped in 12 points, four assists, four steals, three boards and one block.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M jumped out to an 8-2 lead after a jumper by Smith with 15:42 remaining in the first half and a dunk by Tavares gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the night, 14-5, with 12:35 left.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff used a 15-3 run over the next six and a half minutes, capped by a Plet dunk, as the Golden Lions grabbed a 20-17 advantage with exactly six minutes to play.
UAPB stretched its lead to 28-21 after a layup by Plet with just over two minutes remaining in the half, but Alabama A&M closed the half strong, using a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 30-28 at the break.
The Golden Lions pushed the margin to 36-30 as Joe French drained a triple with 18:27 remaining.
However, the Bulldogs rallied by using a 7-1 run over the next three minutes, capped by a layup by Williams, to tie the game at 37 with 15:46 left.
Alabama A&M scored the next six points, including a dunk by Tavares, as the Bulldogs led 43-37 with 13:40 remaining and a Peek jumper with 9:16 left gave the Bulldogs a 51-43 advantage.
Back came Arkansas-Pine Bluff as the Golden Lions used a 11-2 run, capped by a three-point play by Martin to take a 54-53 lead with exactly five minutes to play.
Two free throws by Plet gave UAPB a 59-58 lead with 1:37 remaining, but that would be the last lead the Golden Lions would have.
On the next AAMU offensive possession, Peek drained a jumper, followed by a free throw by
Chad Moodie as the Bulldogs took a 61-59 advantage with 55 seconds to play.
That set the stage for a wild finish as Alabama A&M held on for their first road win of the season.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor and the free-throw line (7-of-14)
- AAMU pulled down 44 rebounds, with 15 coming off the offensive glass
- Omari Peek registered 21 points and six rebounds
- Lorenzo Downey tallied eight points and a career-high 13 boards
- The Bulldogs finished with 40 points in the paint, 16 bench points, 16 second-chance points, eight points off 14 UAPB turnovers and five fastbreak points
- Arkansas-Pine Bluff went 19-of-51 shooting (37.3 percent) and 17-of-21 (81.0 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Golden Lions grabbed 22 rebounds, with 17 coming off the defensive glass
- Lonnell Martin recorded 20 points, two assists, one rebound and one steal
- Ismael Plet added 15 points, seven boards, four steals and one block
- Kylen Milton chipped in 12 points, four assists, four steals, three boards and one block
- The Golden Lions finished with 30 points off 26 AAMU turnovers, 24 points in the paint, nine fastbreak points, three second-chance points and one bench point
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M concludes its four-game road swing on Monday with a trip to Itta Bena, Miss. as the Bulldogs visit Mississippi Valley State. Tip-off against the Delta Devils is set for 7:30 p.m. from the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex.
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics, check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics) and Twitter (@_aamuathletics).
