JACKSON, Miss. – Alabama A&M men’s basketball (6-11, 2-2 SWAC) fell to Jackson State (4-12, 3-0 SWAC), 72-64, inside the Williams Athletic & Assembly Center on Monday evening, despite three double figure scorers in the ball game.
 
After a three from Jackson State to open the game, the Bulldogs found themselves down 10-2 with over 16 minutes to play. A&M cut into the lead with scores from EJ Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Omari Peek (Cincinnati, Ohio) to put the score at 10-7 at the 12:16 mark.
 
Jackson State regained momentum soon after, outscoring A&M 8-1 over the next three minutes before taking a double-digit lead at 21-10 with seven minutes in the half. The Bulldogs found themselves trialing 27-12 at the 4:55 mark; however, responded to close the half down just 36-29.
 
Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Co.) made four free throws to start the second for the Bulldogs as they continued to cut into the lead, trailing just 36-33 just over a minute into the half. Minutes later, Messiah Thompson (Atlanta, Ga.) sank a pair of free throws to give Alabama A&M a 41-40 lead.
 
The two teams traded scores over the next few possessions, seeing the game change leads six times and tied on five occasions. Jackson State took a 56-50 lead with just over nine minutes to play and held on to a multiple score lead until Thompson sank a three to pull the Bulldogs within a point at 63-62. However, Jackson State made another run down the stretch to finish out the game.
 
Trayce Young scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Jackson State, followed by Coultie Young and Jamarcus Jones with 14 and 13 points respectively.
 
Thompson led the Bulldogs with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, followed by Peek with 14 points, and Smith with 11 and six rebounds. The team finished the game shooting 40.8 (20-for-49) percent from the field, 31.3 (5-for-16) percent from three, and 70.4 (19-for-27) percent from the free throw line.
 

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