BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Alabama State led the Magic City Classic early, however, Jordan Bentley took over for Alabama A&M and led the Bulldogs to a 43-41 triple overtime victory over Alabama State in front of 53,217 on a rainy Saturday.

Ezra Gray led Alabama State (3-4, 2-2 SWAC) with 104 yards on 23 carries, just his second 100-yard game under head coach Donald Hill-Eley and the first this season. In the process, he went over the 1,000-yard mark for his career and now stands at 1,063 for his career.

Duran Bell, playing for the first time in four weeks, finished the day with 71 yards on 18 carries that helped Alabama State record 160 yards rushing on the night. They also added 202 through the air as KHA'Darris Davis returned to action to finish the night 14-for-28 with one interception and five touchdowns.

Michael Jefferson was the beneficiary of six of those passes as he recorded 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tyrek Allen finished with three catches and a pair of touchdowns, while Jahod Booker reeled in the other.

Defensively, Colton Adams and Devon Booker combined for 25 tackles – with Adams leading the way with 13. He also added 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Meanwhile, Booker finished with 12 tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. He also added a pair of pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.

But it was Bentley for Alabama A&M who finished the night with 197 yards on the ground on 39 carries. He also added three touchdowns and the two-point conversion in the third overtime that proved to be the game-winning score.

And it was Bentley that put Alabama A&M (5-3, 2-1 SWAC) on the board first with a one-yard run to cap off a two-play, 77-yard drive with 9:39 to play in the opening quarter. After a brief downpour in the first, Alabama State answered with 21 unanswered points to close out the first half. They used a 48-yard pass from Davis to Jefferson to tie things up at 7-all with 14:04 to play in the half, and then used a play from the special teams to take the lead.

Nygel Shamburger was able to find a crease in the Alabama A&M line and took the ball off the foot Bulldogs' punter Spencer Corey. His teammate – and former high school teammate – Eric Felts picked it up and ran it into the end zone for his first career touchdown with 13:11 to play in the half. The final score came when Jefferson caught his second touchdown pass with 9:55 to play for a 21-7 lead heading into the locker room.

The two teams battled throughout the third quarter, before Bentley scored on his second one-yard run as time expired in the quarter to trim the lead to 21-14. The Bulldogs tied the game with 12:42 to play in the game on an Aqeel Glass three-yard run before the teams settled into overtime.

They each scored a touchdown in the first overtime, with Alabama State having to answer a Bulldogs score on a four-yard reception by Allen to knot the score at 28-all. The Hornets scored the opening touchdown of the second overtime on a 16-yard pass to Booker, before Alabama A&M used a 25-yard pass of their own into the back of the end zone.

The Bulldogs scored and converted the subsequent two-point conversion to take a 43-35 lead before Alabama State took over. The Hornets used a 17-yard pass from Davis to Allen to pull within two, however, the pass to tie the game up was batted down in the end zone as the game ended.

Alabama State returns to action next weekend on the road against Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena. The game is scheduled to kick at 1 pm and will be carried by the Hornet Sports Network with pregame set for 12:30 pm.

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