Albany State loses by a point to Auburn-Montgomery

ALBANY — Michael Green sat just out of bounds as the final horn sounded, in disbelief at what had just happened.

Devontay Ward wasn’t sure whether the game was officially over and whether to start shaking hanks with the opponent.

Meanwhile, coach Michael Moore sprinted across the court to ask for an explanation.

With less than five seconds left and Albany State trailing by a point, the Rams inbounded the ball and Green appeared to be pushed down beyond midcourt by an Auburn-Montgomery player, resulting in a turnover. The Warhawks grabbed the ball and ran out the final two seconds and left the HPER Gymnasium with a 69-68 victory Monday night.

Green wanted a foul, but game officials saw otherwise. Moore pleaded for an explanation.

“I asked them to get together and ask each other because they do get together and help each other out,” Moore said. “I wanted them to get together and ask if they saw them push my man down, just get together and have a conversation.”

It was a stinging end after Albany State (4-6) played perhaps its best game of the season. The Rams, who trailed by two at halftime, opened the second half on a 6-0 run and led until Auburn-Montgomery sank back-to-back 3-point baskets to grab a 52-51 lead with 8:44 left.

But the Warhawks didn’t hit another basket until Darrion Taylor drilled a trey with 4:51 remaining to stop an 8-0 Albany State run.

Each time it seemed the Rams had established some cushion, Auburn-Montgomery came charging back.

ASU led 61-57 with 3:54 left before the Warhawks rallied to take the lead at 62-61 with 2:27 left. The teams traded baskets and leads in the final two minutes.

Devontay Ward sank a pair of free throws with 56 seconds left to give Albany State a 66-65 advantage before AUM sank a pair of free throws to regain the lead. Ward then connected on a follow with 34 seconds left to make it 68-67, setting up a thrilling finish.

Auburn-Montgomery’s Desmond DeRamus drove the lane and sank the basket off the glass with nine seconds left, leaving enough time for Albany State to answer with a potential game-winning basket.

But Albany State turned the ball over on the ensuing pass on the controversial last-second play, leaving the players and its fans crying foul.

Brandon Hudson and Ward led the Rams with 18 points apiece. Hudson said it was a heart-breaking end from what he thought was a well-played game.

“It stings a lot,” he said. “Things happen … everything can’t go your way. We just have to go on to the next one and try to win the next one, go harder and do what coach tells us in practice and try to get the win.”

Khaliq Hughes finished with 13, while Ward also pulled down 11 rebounds.

The Rams finished shooting 39 percent (28 of 71) from the floor, including a blistering 53 percent (18 of 34) in the second half.

Auburn-Montgomery, however, used the 3-pointer to pull itself back into the game. They connected on five of 15 in the second half.

“We gave up too many threes … our transition defense wasn’t good,” Moore said. “We gave up too many 3-point shots. That’s one of our keys. That’s what kept them in the game. That was just us not doing what we’ve been taught to do. Under no circumstances do we give up that 3-point shot.”

Albany State will play at Morehouse in the SIAC-CIAA Classic Saturday and Sunday. They will meet Livingstone Saturday at 2 p.m., then play Shaw at 2 p.m. on Sunday. They won’t play again at home until Jan. 5 when they entertain Lane College in conference play.

Moore was upset his team hasn’t played better after starting the season with six of the team’s first nine games at home.

“You don’t lose at home,” he said. “Like I told them, we have a six-game home-stretch and if you don’t do your homework, you’re not going to have a winning record. We are 3-3 at home, and I can’t give them a better schedule than what we’ve got this year. We have 16 home games and we should have gotten off to really good start.

“To finish 3-3 at home in that stretch is just unacceptable. Basketball is a home-court advantage and you have to win your home games. We’ve played enough games … everybody knows the philosophy and the system now, it’s just a matter of us executing.”