JACKSON, Tenn. – The Auburn Montgomery Men's Basketball Team picked up its third-straight win with a 78-73 victory at (RV) Union University in Gulf South Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 8.
 
The win improves AUM's record to 6-9 overall and 3-4 in GSC action.
 
James Graham led a group of three Warhawks that scored in double figures with a career-high 28 points on a 10-15 shooting performance. The junior forward also hauled in a team-high seven rebounds while shooting 80 percent (4-5) from three and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
 
Isaiah Hart registered 19 points with a game-high six steals while Roderick Smith notched 10 points with five rebounds. Jeremiah Bozeman also brought down a team-high seven boards while scoring six points and assisting three times.
 
The Warhawks knocked down seven of their first 13 shots to begin the afternoon, as the score would read 15-all at the 11:55 mark in the first half. From there both teams would exchange baskets over the final 11-plus minutes, with AUM leading by as many as five points before the score reading 33-33 at the break.
 
AUM opened up the second half with a 10-4 scoring run, with a jumper by Graham extending their lead to 43-37 with 16:44 to play. The Warhawks would continue to apply the pressure by going on an 11-5 run after the Union cut their deficit to 45-42 and give AUM its largest lead of the contest at 56-47 with 12:38 to play.
 
Union would battle back with an 8-0 run and trim the Warhawks' lead to just 56-55 with 9:07 to go. AUM would respond with a 7-2 run to go back up 63-57, however, and would again find themselves up by six (67-61) with five and a half minutes to go.
 
The Bulldogs fought back down the stretch and would eventually tie up the score at 69-all after an 8-2 run over two minutes. AUM would hold steady, however, by knocking down seven of nine shots from the free throw line over the final three minutes to ice the game and clinch the 78-73 win.
 
The Warhawks shot the ball well all night, converting on 44 percent (16-36) of their shots in the first half and 55 percent (15-27) in the second to finish the game at 49 percent (31-63). AUM's field-goal efficiency on Saturday accounted for it's third-highest average of the season.
 
AUM additionally tallied its second-highest three-point efficiency of the season at 54 percent (9-14) while holding Union to 31 percent (6-19) from downtown. The Warhawks also registered 34 points in the paint, 18 points off of Bulldog turnovers and 12 fast break points.
 
The men's basketball team will return home for its next contest on Wednesday, Jan. 12 against West Alabama. Tip-off from the AUM Gymnasium is set for 8:00 p.m. (CST).  
 
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