Nov. 28, 2005

Final Stats

MOBILE, Ala. - Alabama State has outscored its opponents in the second half this season and after holding the lead at halftime against South Alabama, looked to be in good position to pick up its second win of the season Friday night at the Mitchell Center.

But for one six-minute stretch, the Hornets went ice cold. The Jaguars scored 19 consecutive points during that run to turn an ASU lead into an 82-65 loss that dropped Bama State to 1-4 on the season.

"I thought we played a solid first half, but in the second half we didn't take care of the ball very well and we fouled too much," said Alabama State coach Lewis Jackson. "You're not going to beat many teams when they get to the line 42 times."

Senior guard LaMarquis Blake scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-7 from betond the 3-point arc. It was his red-hot shooting in the first half that sparked an 11-0 run to give ASU its first lead, 26-24, with 4:23 left in the half. The Hornets would ultimately go into the locker room with a 32-28 advantage.

"Blake had an outstanding game," Jackson said. "He really pushed the ball up the floor and tried to create shots for his teammates. But he had the hot hand so we kept going to him."

South Alabama erased the ASU lead in the first minute of the second half but another Blake 3-pointer put the Hornets back in front. When Cedric Mitchell tipped in a missed Alexander Oliver shot at the 16:34 mark, Bama State still held a 39-36 lead.

That's when the Jaguars took control.

The Hornets missed their next nine shots and turned the ball over six times during South Alabama's 19-0 run that was finally broken by two Akeim Claborn free throws at the 10:21 mark. It would still be another minute before ASU converted a field goal attempt but by then, the Jaguars had built a 17-point lead - their largest of the game.

ASU would cut the deficit to 57-49 with 5:49 remaining but could not get any closer. The Jaguars would take advantage of 32 Hornet fouls by converting on 30-of-42 from the charity stripe.

Claborn would score 16 points and grab eight rebounds, sharing team-high rebounding honors with Mitchell. Five Jaguars scored in double figures, led by Jason McGriff's 17 points.