BIRMINGHAM – Alabama A&M head coach Otis Hughley Jr. challenged his basketball team to either have a short or long visit to the Magic City this week.
The Bulldogs opted for the latter.
Alabama A&M, the No. 7 seed, used suffocating defense in the last five minutes of the game and a big second half from guard Lorenzo Downey to defeat No. 2 Alcorn State 75-63 in the first round of the Starry Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament Wednesday at Bartow Arena.
The Bulldogs, who didn’t secure a tournament berth until upsetting Southern in the regular-season finale coupled with a loss by Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Sunday, advanced to the semifinals for the third straight season. A&M (11-21) will now take on either No. 3 Texas Southern or No. 6 seed Jackson State at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
The loss broke a nine-game winning streak and ended the season for the Braves (14-18).
“I am so proud of our young men and how they kept fighting today,” Hughley Jr. said. “To beat a team who won nine straight games and ran the table during the second half of the season is remarkable.
“We took their best punch in that first half, but in that second half, I felt like we did some things defensively to change their game plan. It also helped that we were shooting the ball extremely well.”
A&M held Alcorn State, which led 37-34 at halftime, scoreless for the final 5:07 of their quarterfinal match in front of a Bulldogs-leaning crowd. Forward Omari Peek and Downey each scored 16 points in the win.
Downey scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half. Downey added three rebounds and one assist, while Peek recorded five boards and one steal.
A&M took the lead for good at 53-31 with 10:59 left in the game and pulled away in the final fourth of the second half.
Meanwhile, the No. 5-seeded Alabama A&M women play No. 4 Arkansas Pine-Bluff tonight at 5:30.
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