Dozier’s big second half lifts Alabama A&M past UNA

NORMAL — Kintavious Dozier scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half Monday night as Alabama A&M ended a three-game losing streak to North Alabama with a 68-60 victory over the Lions at the AAMU Event Center.

Alabama A&M trailed by as many as 13 points and used a 17-2 run to take a slim lead late in the first half. North Alabama led, 29-28, at the half, but could not withstand Dozier’s big half as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten at home.

Dozier went 9-of-20 from the floor to finish with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Koron Davis scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half and added four boards. PJ Eason just missed a double-double, recording nine points, nine boards, three steals and two assists.

Canin Jefferson led North Alabama with 20 points, four boards, two assists and one steal, while Dallas Howell added 16 points, including four 3-pointers, four boards and one assist. Donte Bacchus tossed in 10 points and six boards.

Alabama A&M, which went 1-for-11 from the floor during the first seven minutes, struggled to get anything going offensively as North Alabama jumped out to a 12-3 advantage after a three-point play by Kevin de Kocachich with 13:14 remaining.

The Bulldogs (6-4) trimmed the deficit to 12-7 after a pair of free throws by Sami Pissis with 11:30 left, but back came the Lions, using a 10-2 run, capped by a jumper by Howell to extend UNA’s lead to 22-9 with just over eight minutes to play.

Alabama A&M responded with a 17-2 run, capped by free throws by Davis, to give the Bulldogs a 26-24 advantage with 2:24 remaining.

The two teams traded buckets over the final two minutes as North Alabama took a slim, 29-28, lead into the break.

The Bulldogs began the second half on a 9-4 run to grab a 37-33 lead with 16:32 remaining and stretched the advantage to 46-40 after a Dozier jumper with 12:34 left.

North Alabama (5-5) trimmed the deficit to 49-45 with just over 10 minutes to play but Alabama A&M responded with a five straight points from PJ Eason and Gabe Kincy to push the Bulldog lead to 54-45 with 8:06 left.

Back came the Lions as North Alabama got a layup by Bacchus and free throws by Corneilous Williams to close the gap to 54-50 with just over seven minutes to play. However, AAMU answered with a dunk by Lou Hutchinson and a layup by Pissis to push the lead to 58-50 with 5:33 remaining.

A 3-pointer by Howell trimmed the Bulldog lead to 62-58 with 1:40 left, but a Dozier bucket with 48 seconds remaining sealed the victory as North Alabama never got any closer.

Alabama A&M is on the road Wednesday in a neutral site contest against Ole Miss in Tupelo, Miss. Tip-off against the Rebels is set for 7 p.m. from Cadence Bank Arena and streamed on the SEC Network+.

Stat sheet

• Alabama A&M shot 37.5% (21-of-56) from the floor and 67.7% (21-of-31) from the free-throw line
• The Bulldogs grabbed 42 rebounds, with 13 coming on offensive glass
• Kintavious Dozier registered 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals
• Koron Davis scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half and added four boards
• PJ Eason just missed a double-double, recording nine points, nine boards, three steals and two assists
• Alabama A&M finished with 20 points in the paint, 16 second-chance points, 10 points off 12 UNA turnovers, six bench points and five fastbreak points
• North Alabama went 21-of-50 shooting (42%) and 10-of-17 (58.8%) from the charity stripe
• The Lions grabbed with 32 rebounds, with 28 coming on the defensive end
• Canin Jefferson recorded 20 points, four boards, two assists and one steal
• Dallas Howell added 16 points, including four 3-pointers, four boards and one assist
• Donte Bacchus tossed in 10 points and six boards.
• North Alabama finished with 20 points in the paint, eight fastbreak points, three points off 13 AAMU turnovers, two bench points and two second-chance points