HUNTSVILLE, Ala. | In a wild turn of events on Monday night,
Jayland Randall's putback with 25 seconds left help complete a come-from-behind victory as the Alabama A&M University men's basketball rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to defeat Bethune-Cookman, 72-68, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (5-17 overall, 4-5 SWAC) completed the Florida Sweep, rallying for its largest deficit of the night, nine points (63-54) with just over five minutes to play. Bethune-Cookman (10-12, 5-4) led for most of the second half, thanks in part to a 12-2 run during a five minute stretch but could not hold on.
AAMU got free throws from
Darius Osborne and
Caleb Blackwell as the Bulldogs survived two 3-point attempts during the final 13 seconds to pull out the victory.
The Bulldogs played nearly the entire second half without leading scorer
Dailin Smith, who left the game due to an injury. Smith, who entered the night with 926 career points, recorded eight points in the first half. Smith pulled up holding his knee with 4:15 remaining in the first half and returned to begin the second half but played less than a minute.
Omari Peek led Alabama A&M with 16 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Cameron Tucker,
Chad Moodie and
Caleb Blackwell each recorded nine points.
Jakobi Heady paced Bethune-Cookman with a team-high 16 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal. Dhashon Dyson tallied 14 points, three boards, one assist and one steal, while Zion Harmon and Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr. each added 13 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Bethune-Cookman raced out to a 7-3 advantage after a Dyson jumper with just under 17 minutes to play
- Alabama A&M answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a dunk by Chad Moodie, as the Bulldogs grabbed a 10-7 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining
- Alabama A&M went cold from the floor over the final 6:28 after an AC Bryant layup tied the game at 24
- Both teams struggled from the field during the final six minutes as Bethune-Cookman took a 31-30 lead into the break
- After a pair of EJ Williams free throws gave AAMU a 37-36 lead, Dyson drained a triple, giving BCU a 39-37 advantage with 16:16 remaining
- The Wildcats got buckets by Dyson and Reggie Ward Jr. in pushing the margin to 44-39 with 15:39 left
- Bethune-Cookman went cold from the field, going nearly five minutes without a bucket as Alabama A&M used an 11-2 run to take a 50-46 lead after a Darius Osborne dunk with 11:35 remaining
- The Wildcats responded with a 14-2 run during a five-minute stretch as Bethune-Cookman grabbed a 60-52 lead after free throws by Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr. with just under seven minutes to play
- Alabama A&M closed the gap to 63-60, on the heels of a small 6-0 run, after free throws by Caleb Blackwell with 4:17 left
- The Bulldogs grabbed a 67-66 lead after a Jayland Randall layup with 1:45 remaining, but a Harmon layup gave BCU the 68-67 advantage with 1:25 to play
- Alabama A&M got a huge defensive stop and after a Tucker miss on a layup, Randall was there for the quick putback as the Bulldogs took a 69-68 lead with 25 seconds remaining
- The Bulldogs got a huge layup by Randall and free throws by Osborne and Caleb Blackwell sealed the come-from-behind win
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the floor and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 40 rebounds, including 27 off the defensive glass
- Omari Peek led Alabama A&M with 16 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist
- Cameron Tucker, Chad Moodie and Caleb Blackwell each recorded nine points
- The Bulldogs finished with 44 bench points, 36 points in the paint, 12 points off 12 BCU turnovers, 11 second-chance points and 10 fastbreak points
- Bethune-Cookman went 22-of-53 shooting (41.5 percent) and 17-of-21 (81.0 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Wildcats grabbed 24 rebounds, including just five on the offensive glass
- Jakobi Heady paced Bethune-Cookman with a team-high 16 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal
- Dhashon Dyson tallied 14 points, three boards, one assist and one steal
- Zion Harmon and Derrick Carter-Hollinger Jr. each added 13 points
- The Wildcats finished with 24 points in the paint, 20 points off 17 AAMU turnovers, 16 bench points, 15 fastbreak points and four second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M returns to action on Saturday as the Bulldogs visit Southern. Tip-off against the Jaguars is set for 5:30 p.m. from the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
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).
