MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Warhawks of Auburn-Montgomery out-scored the Bulldogs by 11 in the first half and by 13 in the second and soundly disrupted the three-game winning streak of Union men’s basketball by a 96-72 decision on Thursday night inside the AUM Athletics Complex.
Leading by just three points early in the second half after entering the break with a 46-35 advantage, the home team embarked on a 10-minute, 33-11 run, quickly putting the Bulldogs (7-3, 3-1) out of sight. During the lopsided stretch, the Bulldogs shot just 2-17.
In his best night to date from beyond the arc (3-5), Judson Bjornstad scored a career-high 17 to lead the Bulldogs, who would sink just five threes. Kaleim Taylor (16), CJ Jackson (12) and Parker Applegate (10) joined the freshman in double-figures.
Warhawk junior Talib Ferrette led all scorers with 26 on 9-17 shooting. Ferrette had 21 by halftime and a whopping 18 points in the game’s first 13 minutes. AUM’s Malachi Rhodes posted a forceful 15-point, 15-rebound double-double.
Union, which led 16-8 at the first media timeout, showed promise in the early minutes of the game–Bjornstad already had eight points and two threes-point makes, and the Bulldogs had shot 7-9 from the floor. This advantage dissipated post-haste when, in a game characterized by extended runs, AUM commenced a 21-3 rally from the 14:45 to 9:22 marks during which the Bulldogs went 1-8 and turned the ball over three times. Meanwhile, the Warhawks couldn’t miss throughout the span and connected on eight of their 10 attempts.
The second half began in much the same way that the first opened–Union narrowed the AUM lead from 11 to three with a 19-11 spurt marked by torrid 6-7 shooting. The scoreline resulting from this stretch was–by far–the closest the Bulldogs would ever come, as the Warhawks unwaveringly, inexorably stretched the three-point lead into a 24-point final for the remaining 14 minutes. Union trailed for the final 32:23 of the game.
The Warhawks (5-5, 2-3) out-shot Union, 51.5 percent (35-68) to 40.0 percent (24-60). On triples, AUM paced the two squads, 38.1 percent (8-21) to 29.4 percent (5-17).
Jackson scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season. Taylor notched his third 15-point game of the campaign, while Bjornstad hit the mark for the first time. Applegate reached 10 points for the sixth night and five rebounds for the tenth. The sophomore forward led the Bulldogs with seven boards.
Free throw shooting was the consolation on the stat sheet for Union in a largely dismal affair: the Bulldogs missed only three attempts from the stripe (19-22) at an .864 clip, their second-best of the adolescent season. Bjornstad was perfect in his half-dozen tries.
The Bulldogs tied a season-high with five blocks by five different players. Applegate, Jackson, Bjornstad, Jack Shackelford, and Nate Jones each recorded a swat.
Since joining the Gulf South Conference in 2012, Union has won 10 of 14 contests with AUM but has now conceded two straight.
Union will remain in the Heart of Dixie for a meeting with Montevallo (9-2, 5-0) on Saturday. A 4:00 p.m. tip-off is scheduled.
