BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Taking on one of their toughest opponents of the season, Alabama A&M (1-4, 0-0 SWAC) dropped an 88-62 decision at Western Kentucky (2-3, 0-0 C-USA) in an NCAA Division I men's basketball game on Wednesday, November 24.
Junior guard Garrett Hicks (Madison, Ala.) led the Bulldogs with 21 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds while junior forward Jalen Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) had 10 points and four boards. Junior center EJ Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and two blocks while sophomore guard Dailin Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had nine points, five boards and two steals.
Williams would score the first bucket of the game to give A&M a 2-0 lead before the Hilltoppers would take a firm control unleashing a 47-20 run that included 13 points from Jairus Hamilton and 10 from Luke Frampton over 17 minutes to lead 47-22.
During that same period Hicks notched 11 points that included three treys to keep the Bulldogs afloat before Smith would score the final three points of half, going 3-of-3 from the free throw line to head to the break trailing 47-25.
The Bulldogs would start the second half by unleashing an 18-10 rally over the first eight minutes with Johnson and junior guard Cameron Tucker (Birmingham, Ala) scoring four points each to close the gap to 57-43.
Western Kentucky would then slowly expand their margin over the remainder of the frame, holding a 31-19 advantage that included 12 points from Sherman Brashear in the last eight minutes before closing out the 88-62 victory.
Brashear would lead WKU with 18 points and Hamilton notched 15 points and five boards along with three assists. Frampton added 12 points, nine assists and three rebounds while Josh Anderson finished with 11 points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals to round out the top performers.
Alabama A&M returns to action on Wednesday, December 8 as they take the short drive to North Alabama. That game is set for 6 p.m. at Flowers Hall.
