THE HILL | On a night when the Alabama A&M University men's basketball team didn't have one single bench point, the Bulldogs had all five starters register double figures in scoring in an 80-53 victory over Tennessee State on Wednesday night at the AAMU Event Center.
Alabama A&M (4-3) led by five at the break and used a late 12-2 run to pull away from Tennessee State to remain unbeaten at home.
Sami Pissis scored a season-high 21 points, on 7-of-12 shooting, along with a game-high seven assists, two steals and one rebound to pace the AAMU offense.
Kintavious Dozier added 18 points, seven boards, two steals, one block and one assist, while
James Graham III chipped in 17 points, four boards and one assist.
Koron Davis recorded 14 points and nine boards and
PJ Eason tallied 10 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and tied a career-high with five blocks.
Jalen Pitre paced Tennessee State with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal. Dante Harris, Aaron Nkrumah and Khalil London each chipped in 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M, which led wire-to-wire, began the game on a 10-3 run, capped by a Dozier jumper with 16:28 remaining in the opening half, but Tennessee State (5-4) closed the margin to 14-9 after a layup by Khalil London with 13:18 left.
Both teams went cold from the floor, going more than four minutes without a basket before a
PJ Eason bucket extending AAMU's lead to 16-9 with 9:10 remaining and a Graham triple continued to give the Bulldogs the lead at 25-19 with 4:28 left.
Alabama A&M quickly stretched its advantage, pushing the lead to 32-23 after a free throw by Davis with 1:37 remaining, but Tennessee State closed the half strong, cutting the margin to 32-27 at the break.
The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 13-2 run, capped by a Pissis 3-pointer with exactly 15 minutes remaining.
The AAMU lead stretched to 17 points, 50-33, on a Pissis layup with 12:47 left, but TSU remained within striking distance at 51-40 after a triple by Travis Harper II snapped a three-minute spell from the floor with 9:36 left.
The Tigers continued to battle back, cutting the deficit to 55-47 after free throws by Pitre with 7:43 remaining. However, Alabama A&M responded with a 12-2 run over the next three-plus minutes, capped by a Davis dunk to put the game away at 67-49 with 4:14 left.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 51.0 percent (26-of-51) from the floor and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 40 rebounds, with 28 coming on the defensive glass
- Sami Pissis scored a season-high 21 points, on 7-of-12 shooting, along with a game-high seven assists, two steals and one rebound
- Kintavious Dozier added 18 points, seven boards, two steals, one block and one assist
- James Graham III chipped in 17 points, four boards and one assist
- Koron Davis recorded 14 points and nine boards
- PJ Eason tallied 10 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and tied a career-high with five blocks
- Alabama A&M finished with 30 points in the paint, 16 points off 14 TSU turnovers, 13 fastbreak points and 11 second-chance points
- Tennessee State went 19-of-65 (29.2 percent) from the field and 11-of-20 (55.0 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Tigers grabbed 42 rebounds, including 25 on the offensive glass
- Jalen Pitre paced Tennessee State with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal
- Dante Harris, Aaron Nkrumah and Khalil London each chipped in 10 points
- Tennessee State finished with 22 points in the paint, 18 second-chance points, 15 bench points, 13 points off 15 AAMU turnovers and 10 fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M returns to the road as the Bulldogs visit Lipscomb on Sunday. Tip-off against the Bisons is set for 4 p.m. from Allen Arena and streamed on ESPN+.
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