BATON ROUGE, La. | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball fought hard and nearly rallied from an eight-point, second-half deficit as the Bulldogs fell, 69-62, to Southern in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday night at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
 
Alabama A&M (5-18 overall, 4-6 SWAC) led by as many as 12 points (23-11) during the opening half. However, Southern (14-9, 8-2) rallied and got just enough distance in the second half to pick up the win. The Bulldogs trailed, 65-62, with 27 seconds remaining, but the Jaguars sealed the game at the free-throw line.
 
Cameron Tucker and Chad Moodie paced Alabama A&M's offense with 12 points each. Tucker added six boards, three assists and two steals, while Moodie registered a team-high seven boards and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Brandon Davis led Southern with a game-high 20 points, including 10-of-12 from the foul line, and three rebounds. Tidjiane Dioumassi added 13 points, a team-high six assists, two boards and two steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Alabama A&M raced out to a 13-2 lead after an Omari Peek layup with 12:24 remaining in the opening half
• The Bulldogs stretched the advantage to 23-11 after a Lorenzo Downey triple with 6:25 left
• Southern used a 9-2 run, capped by a Jordan Johnson 3-pointer, closing the margin to 25-20 with 2:28 remaining
• A layup by Moodie and a free throw by AC Bryant pushed the advantage to 28-20 with just over a minute left in the half
• However, Southern got a layup by Derrick Tezeno and a 3-pointer by Johnson as the Jaguars went into the break trailing, 28-25
• Southern grabbed a 35-30 advantage after a Dioumassi free throw with 13:49 remaining
• Alabama A&M rallied and tied the game at 43 on a Moodie layup with 6:32 left
• The Jaguars stretched the margin to 54-47 after free throws by Delang Muon with 3:20 remaining
• However, the Bulldogs continued to keep the game close, cutting the deficit to 65-62 after a Downey triple with 27 seconds left
• The Jaguars sealed the game at the charity stripe to earn the conference victory

 
GAME NOTES

• Alabama A&M shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the floor and 66.7 percent (14-of-17) from the foul line
• The Bulldogs grabbed 31 rebounds, with 22 coming on the defensive glass
• Cameron Tucker poured in 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals
• Chad Moodie added 12 points, a team-high seven boards and a pair of blocked shots
• The Bulldogs finished with 32 points in the paint, 23 bench points, 19 second-chance points, 14 points off 14 Southern turnovers and 13 fastbreak points
• Southern went 18-of-54 shooting (33.3 percent) and 28-of-37 (75.7 percent) from the charity stripe
• The Jaguars grabbed 34 rebounds, including 13 on the offensive glass
• Brandon Davis recorded 20 points and three rebounds
• Tidjiane Dioumassi added 13 points, a team-high six assists, two boards and two steals
• The Jaguars finished with 24 points in the paint, 22 bench points, 20 points off 21 AAMU turnovers, 17 fastbreak points and 12 second-chance points

UP NEXT 
Alabama A&M concludes its two-game Louisiana road trip on Monday at Grambling State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
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