image via Alabama A&M Athletics
Brian Howard, Assistant AD for Communications
Three Alabama A&M University men’s basketball players posted double figures in scoring, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs continue to search for its first road win of the season as the Bulldogs fell, 95-79, to Florida A&M in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday at the Al Lawson Center.
Alabama A&M (7-14 overall, 3-5 SWAC) trailed 34-32 at the break, but opening the second shooting 2-for-10 from the floor as Florida A&M pushed the lead to double digits and didn’t look back.
AC Bryant led the Bulldogs with 16 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Angok Anyangposted a career-high 12 points, three boards and one assist, while Chad Moodie recorded 11 points, six boards, one assist and one block.
Milton Matthews led Florida A&M (8-11, 5-3) with 25 points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal. Sterling Young chipped in 23 points, one board, one assist, one steal and one block, while Roderick Coffee III tallied 13 points, four boards and five assists. Shaqir O’Neal posted 12 points and Jordan Chatman added 10.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M and Florida A&M traded leads throughout the first half as O’Neal gave the Rattlers an 18-15 lead with 10:38 remaining.
Alabama A&M tied the game at 20 after a Moodie bucket with 9:25 left, but the Bulldogs went cold from the floor as Florida A&M used a 9-2 run, capped by a dunk by Ja’Derryus Eatmon as the Rattlers took a 29-22 lead with 4:43 remaining.
The Bulldogs battled back, on the heels of a 8-2 run, as Bryant drained a jumper, cutting the deficit to 31-30 with 1:30 left.
A Matthews trey gave FAMU a 34-30 lead but Moodie’s jumper right before the break closed the gap to 34-32 at the half.
Florida A&M opened the second half on an 11-3 run, capped by a Matthews triple as the Rattlers stretched their lead to 45-33 with 16:29 remaining.
The Bulldogs continued to play from behind, trimming the margin to 57-47 after a Bryant layup with just over nine minutes to play, but three free throws by Coffee gave FAMU a 68-52 advantage with 7:12 remaining.
The lead grew to 73-57 with 5:29 to play and Alabama A&M could not recover from the big deficit.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 45.0 percent (27-of-60) from the floor and 60.0 percent (18-of-30) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 37 rebounds, including 18 on the offensive end
- AC Bryant tallied 16 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal
- Angok Anyang posted a career-high 12 points, three boards and one assist
- Chad Moodie recorded 11 points, six boards, one assist and one block
- Alabama A&M finished with 38 points in the paint, 32 bench points, 18 second-chance points, 10 fastbreak points and six off 12 FAMU turnovers
- Florida A&M went 30-of-57 shooting (52.6 percent) and 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Rattlers grabbed 33 rebounds, with 21 coming off the defensive glass
- Milton Matthews recorded 25 points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal
- Sterling Young chipped in 23 points, one board, one assist, one steal and one block
- Roderick Coffee III tallied 13 points, four boards and five assists
- Shaqir O’Neal posted 12 points and Jordan Chatman added 10
- Florida A&M finished with 43 bench points, 30 points in the paint, 23 fastbreak points, 20 points off 12 AAMU turnovers and 14 second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M concludes its two-game road swing in the Sunshine State on Monday as the Bulldogs visit Bethune-Cookman. Tip-off against the Wildcats is set for 6 p.m. (central time) from Moore Gymnasium and streamed on the CatEye Network.
