BATON ROUGE, La. | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball team had four players post double figures in scoring, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs concluded the regular season with a 71-57 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) loss to Southern on Saturday at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
Alabama A&M (10-21 overall, 6-12 SWAC) trailed by as many as 27 points, cutting the deficit to 12 a few times in the second half as Southern cruised to the home victory.
Chad Moodie led the Bulldogs with 14 points, on 7-of-9 shooting, along with five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
AC Bryant and
Lorenzo Downey each added 13 points, while
Dylan Mclean scored eight of his 11 points in the first half.
Jordan Johnson led Southern (20-11, 15-3) with 14 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal. Michael Jacobs recorded 13 points, three boards and one assist, while Derrick Tezeno tallied a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M trailed 8-5 after a pair of free throws by
Dylan Mclean with 14:46 remaining in the opening half but Southern used a 30-6 run over the next nine minutes as the Jaguars took a commanding 38-11 lead after a Jacobs layup with just over five minutes to play.
The Bulldogs got free throws by
Darius Ford and a jumper by
Chad Moodie in closing the deficit to 43-23 at the half.
Southern pushed the margin to 51-32 after a free throw by Jacobs with 15:29 remaining but the Bulldogs continued to slowly chip away at the deficit, cutting the margin to 60-48 after a Downey layup with just over eight minutes to play.
The Jaguars extended their lead to 63-48 after a trey by Johnson with 6:22 left and Downey's triple closed the gap to 63-51 with 4:30 remaining.
That would be as close as the Bulldogs would get down the stretch.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51) and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 26 rebounds, with 18 coming on the defensive end
- Chad Moodie registered 14 points, on 7-of-9 shooting, along with five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots
- AC Bryant and Lorenzo Downey each added 13 points
- Dylan Mclean scored eight of his 11 points in the first half
- Alabama A&M finished with 28 points in the paint, 18 bench points, 12 points off 12 Southern turnovers, nine second-chance points and seven fastbreak points
- Southern went 21-of-47 from the floor (44.7 percent) and 21-of-27 (77.8 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Jaguars grabbed 32 rebounds, including 24 on the defensive glass
- Jordan Johnson poured in 14 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal
- Michael Jacobs recorded 13 points, three boards and one assist
- Derrick Tezeno tallied a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards
- Southern finished with 25 bench points, 24 points in the paint, 18 points off 15 AAMU turnovers, 10 second-chance points and seven fastbreak points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M turns its attention the SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament and enters as the No. 9 seed. The Bulldogs will face eighth-seeded Grambling State on Tuesday in the opening round. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. (central time) from the Gateway Center and streamed on ESPN+.
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), Facebook (aamubulldogathletics), Twitter (@_aamuathletics) and TikTok (aamuathletics).
