MEMPHIS, TENN. -- Roderick Smith notched a put-back layup with 3.2 seconds left in regulation and nailed the ensuing free throw to lift the Auburn University at Montgomery men's basketball team to a 77-74 win on the road over Christian Brothers University. 

Smith tallied 17 points and seven rebounds in the contest, including scoring 15 points in the second half. He also went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line.

THE TIP-OFF

Score: AUM 77, CBU 74
Records: AUM 5-6 (4-4 GSC) | CBU 1-9 (1-6 GSC)
Series: AUM leads 4-3
Venue | City: Memphis, Tenn. | Canale Arena
Get Social: Twitter & Instagram - @AUMWarhawksMBB

HIGHLIGHTS

• Christian Brothers jumped on the Warhawks early as they took a 14-6 lead to the first media timeout. 
• A Joseph Lanzi three-pointer and a pair of free throws by Sam Youngblood trimmed the deficit to three on two different occasions before the under-four media timeout, but the Bucs used a 20-8 run to take a 36-21 lead with 3:08 to play in the half. 
• Another triple by Lanzi trimmed the Bucs' lead to 36-30 in the closing minute of the first half, but a quick five-point CBU spurt gave the home team a 41-30 halftime lead.
• Trailing 48-38 with 15:08 to play, the Warhawks woke up.
• A Jalen Gaston three-pointer capped a 28-16 opening 10 minutes of the second half for the visitors to give AUM a 58-57 lead with 9:04 to play.
• The two teams traded the lead for the next four minutes before a Lanzi jumper with 2:06 to play gave AUM a lead they did not give away.
• CBU hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 74-74 with 8 seconds to play, but AUM had an answer. 
• Roderick Smith cleaned up a missed shot with an offensive rebound, a put-back layup, and capped the three-point play with a free throw to seal the win.

PLAY OF THE GAME NOTABLES

• Smith scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. 
• AUM out-rebounded its opponent for the eighth time, as they held a 35-22 advantage over CBU on the glass.
• The Warhawks totaled 11 offensive rebounds and a 16-10 advantage in second-chance points.
• Graham added to his league-leading blocks tally with three rejections. Graham leads the GSC with 27 blocks and AUM leads the GSC at 4.45 blocks per game.
• Aiden Ruthsatz scored 22 points and had five steals to lead CBU.

WORDS FROM THE WARHAWKS

"Really happy with our late-game toughness and perseverance to stay together until the end of the game," said head coach Michael Cheaney. "Give a lot of credit to Christian Brothers. They are always a well-coached team, and if you let them get out in front of you, they can really hurt you. That is what they did to us early in the game with our sluggish start. But we stayed with it and threw some pressure at them to try and speed them up, which let us get back into the game."

"We've been waiting on Roderick Smith to have that kind of game," said Cheaney. "Excited about the way he played, particularly in that second half, to help us. When he plays well, we generally play well, and so we are excited to see that game out of him. We also got some great things out of our freshman, Eric Steward Jr., as well as timely plays from Joe and Jalen and Sam. It was a great team effort, and we have to go again against a tough opponent on Sunday."

UP NEXT

AUM remains on the road for its final game before the holiday break. The Warhawks travel to Jackson, Tenn. to take on Union University on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 4 p.m.

-#WeAreAUM-

For the latest on AUM athletics, find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.