NASHVILLE, Tenn. | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball team was back in action on Sunday as the Bulldogs fell, 92-58, to Lipscomb on Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena.
Koron Davis led Alabama A&M by scoring 10 of his team-high 15 points in the first half, along with six rebounds.
Sami Pissis chipped in 12 points, four boards and one assist, while
Bilal Abdur-Rahman added nine points and three boards.
Kennedy Okpara led the Bisons with 17 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, with three boards, two assists, one block and one steal. Grant Asman added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Mateo Esmerald chipped in 14 points, seven boards and six assists. Ethan Duncan, Titas Sargiunas and Ross Caandelino recorded 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lipscomb (6-4) raced out to a 21-10 advantage after a dunk by Kellan Boylan with 8:49 remaining in the opening half, but Alabama A&M (4-4) trimmed the deficit to 22-16 after a layup by Davis with just over six minutes to play.
Back came the Bisons, stretching the lead to 28-19 after free throws by Titas Sargiunas with 5:30 left, but again the Bulldogs, who shot 29 percent in the opening half, answered and used a 7-0 run, capped by free throws by Bilal Andur-Rahman to close the gap to 28-26 with 1:57 remaining.
However, Lipscomb closed the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 35-26 lead into the break.
The Bisons began the second half on a 6-2 run to push the advantage back to double digits, 41-29, after a dunk by Asman with 17:45 remaining and stretched the margin to 45-31 on a dunk by Charlie Williams with 16:24 left.
Alabama A&M got buckets by James Flipplin and
PJ Eason to cut the deficit to 49-37 with 13:35 left, but back came the Bisons, as Okpara drained a triple and Ross Candelino added a three-point play to extend their lead to 55-37 with 12:41 remaining.
The Bulldogs never got any closer than 17 points over the final 12 minutes as Lipscomb picked up the home victory.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 40,0 percent (19-of-56) from the floor and 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 35 rebounds, with 22 coming on the defensive glass
- Koron Davis registered 15 points and six rebounds
- Sami Pissis chipped in 12 points, four boards and one assist
- Bilal Abdur-Rahman added nine points and three boards
- Alabama A&M finished with 24 points in the paint, 19 bench points, nine second-chance points and two points off four Lipscomb turnovers
- Lipscomb went 37-of-62 from the floor (59.7 percent) and 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Bisons grabbed 33 rebounds, with 27 coming on the defensive end
- Kennedy Okpara posted 17 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, with three boards, two assists, one block and one steal
- Grant Asman added 15 points and eight rebounds
- Mateo Esmerald chipped in 14 points, seven boards and six assists
- Ethan Duncan, Titas Sargiunas and Ross Caandelino recorded 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively
- Lipscomb finished with 50 points in the paint, 44 bench points, 23 fastbreak points, 23 points off 12 AAMU turnovers and 10 second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M returns to action on Saturday against Arkansas Baptist. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. inside the AAMU Event Center 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).
