MONTGOMERY, Ala. ------ Despite rallying from a 12-point second half deficit to tie the score in the final four minutes, the Auburn Montgomery men's basketball team could not withstand a 9-2 rally to close the game and fell to Union University, 71-64, Thursday in the Warhawks home opener.

NOTES
• The Warhawks fell to 0-2 on the year with the result.
• The Bulldogs, who tallied 21 wins last season, improved to 3-0.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Lafayette James-Core scored a team-best 16 points, adding five rebounds and a steal.
• Kameron Hornbuckle came off the bench and scored 10 points, grabbing a pair of rebounds and blocking two shots.
• Desmond DeRamus tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
• Julius McCoy hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with nine points.
• Tray Boyd led four Union players in double figures with a game-high 21 points.
• Jarad Scott posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Each team started out cold, with Union holding just a 3-2 lead following a three-point play by KC Goodwin with 14:31 remaining in the first half.
• The two teams battled back and forth for the next seven minutes, as neither team led by more than three points, before a layup by Hornbuckle with 7:17 left in the half gave AUM a 17-16 lead.
• The Bulldogs followed with nine consecutive points and took a 25-17 lead on a Boyd trey with 3:28 remaining. Union led 35-27 at the half.
• Union upped its lead to as many as 12 points on three occasions in the second half, including as late as 9:45 left in the game, 58-46.
• Despite the double-figure deficit, the Warhawks used a 16-4 run during the next six minutes and tied the score on a layup by Darrion Taylor with 3:49 to play. McCoy and James-Core combined for nine points during the spurt.
• Union scored the next seven points, with Boyd's 3-pointer with 3:03 remaining providing the permanent advantage for the Bulldogs.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• The Warhawks converted 24-of-62 shots from the floor, but just 4-of-23 from distance.
• Union hit 43.3 percent of its shots, including 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) from behind the arc.
• The Bulldogs held a 40-35 advantage on the glass.
• AUM turned the ball over just four times in the contest, while forcing 12 turnovers. The Warhawks converted those miscues into 17 points.
• The bench for AUM and Union combined for 74 points.

UP NEXT
The Warhawks will return to action Saturday, Nov. 19, when they travel to Pensacola, Fla., for a 6 p.m. tilt against West Florida.