THE HILL | AC Bryant tossed in a career high 16 points as the Alabama A&M University men's basketball team opened the Bulldog Bash on Friday night with an 82-70 loss to South Carolina State at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (3-3) trailed by as many as 23 points early in the second half and cut the deficit to six points with 3:51 remaining but could not get any closer.
Bryant finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Chad Moodie 16 points and three boards, while
Lorenzo Downey chipped in 14 points, two boards, one assist and one blocked shot.
Omar Croskey scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, along with two boards, one assist and one block. Davion Everettt recorded 12 points, five boards, one block and one steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- South Carolina State (3-3) raced out to a 12-8 advantage after a Jayden Johnson layup with just over 16 minutes to play in the opening half
- Alabama A&M went cold from the floor, going more than five minutes without a bucket from the floor as SCSU built a 26-9 lead with 12 minutes to play
- South Carolina State extended the lead to 36-16 with 8:43 left on free throws by Drayton Jones
- A jumper by EJay Greer and a layup by Moodie closed the gap to 36-20 with 7:54 remaining
- SCSU answered and pushed the margin to 43-22 after a Michael Teal free throw with 5:30 left
- South Carolina State controlled the first half, taking a 51-30 lead into the break
- Alabama A&M opened the second half strong, using a 12-4 run, capped by Saliou Seye dunk, closing the deficit to 55-42 with 16:22 remaining
- A Bryant jumper trimmed the margin to single digits, 58-49, with just under 14 minutes to play
- Alabama A&M continued to close the gap to 76-70 as Downey drained a triple from the corner with 3:51 left
- However, South Carolina State outscored AAMU, 6-0 over the final three minutes to earn the win
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 39.0 percent (23-of-59) from the field and 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the free-throw line
- AAMU grabbed 34 rebounds, with 14 coming on the offensive glass
- AC Bryant finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists
- Chad Moodie 16 points and three boards
- Lorenzo Downey chipped in 14 points, two boards, one assist and one blocked shot
- AAMU finished with 30 points in the paint, 20 second-chance points, 15 points off 15 SCSU turnovers, 11 bench points and seven fastbreak points
- South Carolina State went 30-of-56 shooting (53.6 percent) and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from the charity stripe
- SCSU grabbed 34 rebounds, including 26 on the defensive glass
- Omar Croskey scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, along with two boards, one assist and one block
- Davion Everettt recorded 12 points, five boards, one block and one steal
- South Carolina State finished with 38 points in the paint, 33 bench points, 18 points off 13 AAMU turnovers, 15 fastbreak points and six second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M closes out the Bulldog Bash on Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. from the AAMU Event Center and streamed on Bulldogs All-Access.
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