THE HILL | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball team trailed by 10 points at the break but used a strong second half to pull past Coastal Carolina, 75-70, on Saturday afternoon during the final game of the Bulldog Bash at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (4-3) trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but stormed back with a 53-point second half and went 71.0 percent from the foul line to earn the win.
Darius Ford poured in a career-high 17 points, on 6-of-12 shooting, with a game-high five assists and three rebounds to pace the Bulldogs.
AC Bryant added 15 points, four boards, one assist and one steal, while
Chad Moodie tossed in 14 points, seven boards and a pair of steals.
Lorenzo Downey tallied 12 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot.
Noah Amenhauser led Coastal Carolina (2-4) with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, along with one block. Denzel Hines added 13 points, seven boards and four assists, while RaSheed Jones recorded 11 points, four boards, two steals and one assist.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Alabama A&M trailed 5-4 after a Chad Moodie layup with just under 16 minutes to play in the opening half
- Coastal Carolina used a 7-2 run, capped by free throws by Denzel Hines and Colin Granger, to take a 12-6 lead with 11:58 left
- The Chanticleers went cold from the floor as AAMU took advantage as the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run, capped by an EJay Greer bucket to grab a 13-12 lead with 8:39 remaining
- Coastal Carolina responded with a 18-3 run over the next five minutes and took a 30-16 lead on a pair of free throws by Hines with 2:36 left
- Alabama A&M closed the gap to 34-24 at the break as Clance Crosby and Moodie scored on back-to-back buckets right before the half
- The Bulldogs opened the second half with back-to-back triples by Bryant and London Riley as AAMU trimmed the deficit to 34-30 with 19:09 remaining
- The Chanticleers continued to struggle from the floor as a 3-pointer by Downey tied the game at 41 with 15:46 left
- A three-point play by Ford gave AAMU a 44-43 lead with 14:37 remaining
- The Bulldogs extended their lead to 48-43 after free throws by Bryant with 12:06 left
- Coastal Carolina snapped a nearly seven-minute stretch without a field goal and used a 3-pointer by Naz Brown to grab a 51-50 advantage with 9:01 remaining
- Back-to-back buckets by Moodie gave Alabama A&M a 62-56 lead with 5:42 left, but Coastal Carolina refused to go away, scoring the next four points to close the gap to 62-60 with 4:36 remaining
- The Bulldogs made six straight free throws by Bryant and Moodie as AAMU took a 68-62 lead with 1:23 remaining
- A trey by Jordan Battle and free throws by RaSheed Jones closed the gap to 70-68 with 26 seconds left
- Bilal Abdur-Rahman sank three straight shots at the foul line, pushing the lead to 73-68 with 22 seconds remaining
- After a turnover by the Bulldogs, Coastal Carolina had an opportunity to potential tie the game at 73, but Battle turned the ball over with five seconds left
- Moodie was fouled and sank a pair at the line to seal the victory
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field and 71.0 percent (22-of-31) from the free-throw line
- AAMU grabbed 35 rebounds, with 23 coming off the defensive glass
- Darius Ford poured in a career-high 17 points, five assists and three rebounds
- AC Bryant added 15 points, four boards, one assist and one steal
- Chad Moodie tossed in 14 points, seven boards and a pair of steals
- Lorenzo Downey tallied 12 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot
- AAMU finished with 23 points off 19 CCU turnovers, 20 points in the paint, 20 fastbreak points, 13 bench points and nine second-chance points
- Coastal Carolina went 21-of-52 (40.4 percent) from the floor and 19-of-29 (65.5 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Chanticleers grabbed 43 rebounds, including 17 on the offensive glass
- Noah Amenhauser registered a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, along with one block
- Denzel Hines added 13 points, seven boards and four assists
- RaSheed Jones recorded 11 points, four boards, two steals and one assist
- Coastal Carolina finished with 22 points in the paint, 20 bench points, 17 second-chance points, 16 points off 11 AAMU turnovers and nine fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M takes on day off before returning to action as the Bulldogs plays host to IU Indy. Tip-off against the Jaguars is set for 2 p.m. from the AAMU Event Center and streamed on Bulldogs All-Access.
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