ROME, Ga. – Led by a career-high 26 points from junior center Roderick Smith, the Auburn Montgomery Men's Basketball Team picked up a 79-75 Gulf South Conference road win at Shorter on Feb. 22 to improve to 11-16 overall and 8-11 in conference play.
 
Smith served as one of four Warhawks that scored in double figures on the night. The Crystal Springs, Miss. native knocked down 11 of 15 field goal attempts and hauled in six rebounds.
 
Sam Youngblood finished second in scoring on the evening with 17 points on a 7-12 shooting night. James Graham registered 14 points with a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks while Jeremiah Bozeman scored 10 points with five rebounds and a team-best four assists.
 
Shorter knocked down six of its first eight shots to begin the game and jump out to a 14-8 lead over AUM at the 15:08 mark.
 
The Warhawks would heat up over the next eight minutes, however, by outscoring the Hawks 18-4 and taking a 26-18 lead after a Smith layup at the 5:13 mark. Smith scored eight of the Warhawks' 18 over the run while Youngblood accounted for six points during that span.   
 
AUM kept its distance from Shorter for the rest of the half by shooting 60 over the final five minutes and outscoring the Hawks 13-12. Bozeman put an exclamation mark on the period with a successful jumper as time expired to give the Warhawks a 38-31 lead at halftime.
 
The Warhawks converted on four of their first five field goals to begin the second half, which upped their lead to double digits after a three-pointer by Bozeman at the 17:38 mark made it 48-37.
 
AUM's lead over Shorter waffled between single and double-digits for the majority of the second, but the Hawks fought their way back with a 12-5 run from the 11:14 to the 6:50 mark to trim the Warhawks' advantage to 68-64.
 
The Warhawks scored seven of the next nine points to go up 75-66, but Shorter would come charging back with nine unanswered to tie the game at 75-all with one minute to go.
 
AUM took the lead in dramatic fashion on its next possession, with a Graham slam dunk after a Deven Tucker offensive board putting the Warhawks up 77-75 with 27 seconds left. A technical foul by the Hawks on the ensuing possession gave the Warhawks the opportunity to ice the game and Youngblood would deliver by knocking down both shots from the charity stripe before giving way to the 79-75 final score.
 
The Warhawks finished the night shooting 49 percent (33-68) from the floor, highlighted by a clip of 50 percent (19-38) in the first half. The Orange and Black accounted for 42 points in the paint, 16 bench points, 12 points off of turnovers, 12 fast break points, and 11 second chance points.
 
The Warhawks will play their final home contest of 2021-22 on Saturday, Feb. 26 against Montevallo for "Senior Day." Tip-off from the AUM Gymnasium is slated for 4:00 p.m.
 
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