BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Lorenzo Downey scored 13 of his 16 points, including three 3-pointers, in the second half as the Alabama A&M University men’s basketball team flexed its muscles in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday with a 75-63 victory over Alcorn State.
Alabama A&M (11-21), which defeated Alcorn State for the first time since 2020, advances to its third consecutive SWAC tournament semifinals and will meet either No. 3 seed Texas Southern or No. 6 Seed Jackson State at 8:30 p.m. on Friday at Bartow Arena.
Alcorn State saw its nine-game winning streak snapped and concludes the season at 14-18.
“I am so proud of our young men and how they kept fighting today,” Alabama A&M head coach Otis 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.”
Downey and Omari Peek led the way with 16 points each as the Bulldogs shot 54.5 percent from behind the 3-point line in the second half. Downey added three rebounds and one assist, while Peek recorded five boards and one steal. EJ Williams and Dylan Mclean both registered eight points.
Jeremiah Gambrell led Alcorn State with 16 points, two steals, one rebound and one assist. Dekedran Thorn came off the bench to record 12 points and four boards, while Jeremiah Kendall tallied 11 points, eight boards, three assists and one steal. Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt posted 10 points.
Courtesy: Alabama A&M Athletics
