THE HILL | Sami Pissis' floating jumper with 24.8 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winning bucket as the Alabama A&M University men's basketball team rallied from a five-point second-half deficit to pick up a 68-64 victory to open the Bulldog Bash against Charleston Southern at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (2-1) trailed by as many as five points (62-57) in the second half, but the Bulldogs battled back, outscoring the Buccaneers, 9-2, down the stretch to earn the win.
Kintavious Dozier scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, along with six rebounds, four steals and one assist to pace Alabama A&M. Pissis added eight of his 13 points in the second half, while also recording a game-high six assists, four boards and three steals.
Blake Blaine, who scored a career-high 42 points on Monday against The Citadel, led Charleston Southern with 22 points, three boards and two assists. Reis Jones added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and Jesse Hafemeister chipped in 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M took advantage of a cold-shooting spell by Charleston Southern to jump out to a 12-2 lead after a
Koron Davis layup with 15:22 remaining in the opening half. However, the Buccaneers ended a five-minute scoring draught as Brycen Blaine drained a trey from the corner, cutting the margin to 12-2 with 12:17 left.
Charleston Southern cut the deficit to seven (15-8), but Alabama A&M pushed the advantage to 24-11 after a trey by Dozier with 8:43 remaining and forcing the Buccaneers to call a timeout.
The Bulldogs lead remained at double digits until a triple by Nate Brafford trimmed the margin to 30-21 with just under five minutes to play.
AAMU saw the lead continue to dwindle down the stretch as the Buccaneers used a 10-3 run to close the gap to 39-34 with 19 seconds left, but Dozier was fouled with 1.5 seconds remaining and the senior drained all three free throws as the Bulldogs went into the break with a 42-34 advantage.
Charleston Southern used an 11-2 run over a three-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 51-50 after a Blaine 3-pointer with just under 13 minutes left and took its first lead of the night at 54-53 after a jumper by Brafford with 9:35 remaining.
The Buccaneers got a dunk by Lase Olalere with exactly five minutes to play to push the advantage to 60-55.
Alabama A&M went cold from the floor, going nearly four minutes without a field goal as a dunk by
PJ Eason closed the gap to 60-57 with 3:42 left.
The Bulldogs battled back from a five-point deficit as Eason's two free throws gave AAMU a 64-62 advantage with 1:01 remaining. Back at the other end, a bucket by Blaine tied the game at 64 with 47 seconds left.
However, a Pissis floating jumper put Alabama A&M back on top, 66-64, with 24.8 seconds remaining.
Jaquias Franklin's 3-point attempt was short, and
Gabe Kincy recovered the loose ball, before being fouled as AAMU picked up the 68-64 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 38.8 percent (26-of-67) and 91.7 percent (11-of-12) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 39 rebounds, with 16 coming on the offensive glass
- Kintavious Dozier scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, along with six rebounds, four steals and one assist
- Sami Pissis added eight of his 13 points in the second half, while also recording a game-high six assists, four boards and three steals
- Alabama A&M finished with 26 points in the paint, 19 second-chance points, 14 points off 18 CSU turnovers, 12 bench points and six fastbreak points
- Charleston Southern went 23-of-55 shooting (41.8 percent) and 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) from charity stripe
- The Buccaneers grabbed 40 rebounds, including 26 on the defensive glass
- Blake Blaine registered Charleston Southern with 22 points, three boards and two assists
- Reis Jones added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds
- Jesse Hafemeister chipped in 10 points
- Charleston Southern finished with 30 points in the paint, 23 bench points, 11 second-chance points, 11 points off 14 AAMU turnovers and eight fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M concludes play in the Bulldog Bash on Sunday against Lindenwood. Tip-off against the Lions is scheduled for 3 p.m. and streamed on SWAC TV.
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics – Huntsville's only Division I program - check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics).
