Courtesy of Terrisa Mark, Assistant Sports information Director, AAMU
61 AAMU
56 FAMU
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAMU | 22 | 39 | 61 |
| FAMU | 25 | 31 | 56 |
No. 5 Alabama A&M (12-17, 10-8 SWAC) delivered an offense barrage in the second half to defeat No. 4 Florida A&M (13-17, 11-7 SWAC) with a 61-56 decision in a Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal and an NCAA Division I men’s basketball game on Thursday, March 5. The win advances the Bulldogs to the semifinals for the first time since March 14, 2014.
Junior forward Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the Bulldogs with 15 points and nine rebounds while junior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) added 12 points and nine boards.
Sophomore guard Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had 12 points, two assists and nine rebounds while senior forward Myles Parker (Huntsville, Ala.) chipped in with nine points and six boards. Junior guard Cameron Tucker(Birmingham, Ala.) added seven points, five assists and five rebounds.
Over the first 13:37 the Rattlers built a 16-9 lead that included five points each from MJ Randolph and Kamron Reaves. The Bulldogs would respond with a 7-2 rally to close the gap to 18-16 with 4:30 showing on the clock. For the remainder of the frame FAMU would score seven of 13 to head into the break leading 25-22.
Alabama A&M would start the second half with a 28-20 run that consisted of nine points from Smith and six from Johnson to flip the switch and take the lead, 50-45 with 8:10 left on the clock. The Rattlers would then have a 5-0 burst with all points from Randolph to tie the game, 50-50.
The Bulldogs would then use the remainder of the frame to take the advantage with an 11-6 rally that included four points from Johnson and a trey from Smith to close out the 61-56 victory.
Randolph would lead FAMU with a game-high 19 points, five rebounds and three steals with Reaves following with 13 points, six boards and two assists. D.J. Jones added six points and eight rebounds while Bryce Moragne finished with six points, five boards and three assists to round out the top performers.
AAMU will return to action at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 11 as they battle against No.1 Alcorn State in the SWAC Tournament semifinals.
