Image via AAMU Athletics
Courtesy of Brian Howard, Assistant AD for Communications
THE HILL |Sami Pissis was one of three Alabama A&M University men’s basketball team to score in double figures as the Bulldogs held off Arkansas Baptist, 67-59, on Saturday at the AAMU Event Center.
Pissis finished with 20 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, along with six rebounds, three assists and one block to pace Alabama A&M. Koron Davis added 18 points, including going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line, with six boards, one steal and one block, while Kintavious Dozier chipped in 11 points, six boards, a team-high five assists and one block. PJ Eason tallied a team-high 10 rebounds and eight points.
Christopher Hood led Arkansas Baptist with 15 points, three boards, two assists and one steal, while Lequan Washington registered 12 points, one board and one steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama A&M (5-4) trailed, 8-7, with 14 minutes remaining in the opening half but the Buffaloes went cold from the floor as the Bulldogs capitalized and used a 17-2 run over a seven-minute stretch to take a 24-10 advantage after a free throw by Dozier.
Arkansas Baptist (6-5) trimmed the deficit to 28-17 after a jumper by Christopher Hood with 4:13 left but Alabama A&M answered with buckets by Pissis and Jalen Carruthto push the advantage to 33-17 with 2:23 remaining.
The Bulldogs scored the final four points of the half and took a 37-19 lead into the break.
The Buffaloes continued to battle back, using a 13-3 run over a three-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 42-32 after a Hood triple with 14:37 left.
Alabama A&M responded with free throws by Pissis, a dunk by Eason and a jumper by Davis to push the Bulldog advantage to 57-39 with just over nine minutes to play.
The Bulldogs went cold from the floor, as the Buffaloes used a 10-1 run over a four-minute stretch to close the margin to 65-55 with just over two minutes to play.
However, Arkansas Baptist could not get any closer than eight points down the stretch as Alabama A&M secured its fifth home victory of the season.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the floor and 65.5 percent (19-of-29) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs grabbed 43 rebounds, including 33 on the defensive glass
- Sami Pissis finished with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and one block
- Koron Davis added 18 points, six boards, one steal and one block
- Kintavious Dozier chipped in 11 points, six boards, a team-high five assists and one block
- PJ Eason tallied a team-high 10 rebounds and eight points.
- Alabama A&M finished with 28 points in the paint, 17 fastbreak points, nine points off 13 ABC turnovers, eight second-chance points and eight bench points
- Arkansas Baptist went 18-of-54 shooting (33.3 percent) and 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Buffaloes 30 rebounds, with 26 coming on the defensive glass
- Christopher Hood recorded 15 points, three boards, two assists and one steal
- Lequan Washington registered 12 points, one board and one steal
- Arkansas Baptist finished with 26 points off 16 AAMU turnovers, 23 fastbreak points, 23 bench points, 18 points in the paint and four second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M continues its homestand on Monday as the Bulldogs play host to North Alabama. Tip-off against the Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the AAMU Event Center and streamed on SWAC TV.
