THE HILL | James Graham III posted career highs in points scored, field goals made and field goals attempted as the Alabama A&M University men's basketball team pulled away late in the first half and did not look back in a 80-60 home opening victory over Blue Mountain Christian on Monday night at the AAMU Event Center.
Graham finished with 18 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, along with five rebounds and one block.
Peyton Daniels Sr. also set career highs in 3-pointers made and attempted. He recorded 18 points (three shy of tying a career high), six boards and one assist.
PJ Eason led the way on the glass with nine boards.
Gavin Shannon scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the first half and added seven rebounds and one assist to lead Blue Mountain Christian. Jamarion Harvey tossed in 12 points, two boards, one assist and one steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a slow start, Alabama A&M jumped out to a 14-5 lead after a triple by
Bilal Abdur-Rahman with 12:31 remaining in the opening half.
The Bulldogs (1-0) went nearly four minutes without a field goal before a trey by
Peyton Daniels Sr. gave AAMU a 17-8 advantage with 8:39 left.
A layup by Graham extended Alabama A&M's lead to 24-13 with 6:39 remaining, but a long jumper by Shannon ended a stretch of three-plus minutes without a bucket as the Toppers closed the gap to 28-17 with exactly five minutes left the in half.
Alabama A&M closed the half strong, holding Blue Mountain Christian to just one field goal over the final five minutes as the Bulldogs took a commanding 41-21 lead into the break.
A
Kintavious Dozier bucket, along with a dunk by Graham, extended the Bulldogs' advantage to 51-27 with just under 16 minutes to play.
Alabama A&M went cold from the floor as Blue Mountain Christian (1-1) closed the deficit to 57-36 after a Jonathan Baker layup with 10:56 remaining, but back came the Bulldogs, stretching the margin to 64-36 after a Daniels triple with just over nine minutes to play.
Blue Mountain Christian never got any closer than 18 points down the stretch as Alabama A&M opened the season with a victory.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 46 rebounds, with 33 coming on the defensive end
- James Graham III finished with 18 points, on 8-of-14 shooting, along with five rebounds and one block
- Peyton Daniels Sr. recorded 18 points (three shy of tying a career high), six boards and one assist
- PJ Eason led the way on the glass with nine boards.
- Alabama A&M finished with 43 bench points, 36 points in the paint, 17 fastbreak points, 14 points off 10 BMC turnovers and 13 second-chance points
- Blue Mountain Christian went 18-of-61 shooting (29.5 percent) and 20-of-25 (80.0 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Toppers grabbed 33 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive glass
- Gavin Shannon scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the first half and added seven rebounds and one assist
- Jamarion Harvey tossed in 12 points, two boards, one assist and one steal
- Blue Mountain Christian finished with 26 points in the paint, 24 bench points, 15 fastbreak points, 12 second-chance points and seven points off 14 AAMU turnovers
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M returns to action with its first road game on Wednesday as the Bulldogs visit Indiana. Tip-off against the Hoosiers is set for 7 p.m. (central time) from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and televised on the Big Ten Network.
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