Alabama A&amp,M 65, Southern U. 54

Published Feb. 21, 2010 3:11 a.m. ET

foxsports

Cornelius Hester scored 18 points as Alabama A&M defeated Southern University 65-54 on Saturday night.

After leading 40-38 at halftime, the Bulldogs (9-12, 6-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference) began the second half with an 11-0 run to take control, 51-38. The lead remained in double figures for all but 19 seconds the rest of the way.

Both teams shot well in the first half, but went cold in the second. Alabama A&M shot 51.4 percent (18-for-35) in the opening 20 minutes before slumping to 31.3 percent (10-for-32) after halftime. The Jaguars (4-22, 2-12) shot 50 percent in the first half (14-for-28) but slipped to 20.8 percent after halftime (5-for-24).

Hester was 1-for-6 in the second half after going 6-for-8 in the first.

Bo Amusa scored 14 points for Alabama A&M.

Jameel Grace scored 15 points and Julius Ingram 14 for Southern.