Jan. 9, 2006

Final Stats

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Sometimes, teams that find themselves in a rut are looking for just one opportunity to turn things around.

Alabama State, having lost four straight entering its Southwestern Athletic Conference tilt with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, got five of those chances in the latter moments against the equally lowly Golden Lions. Unfortunately, the Hornets were unable to take advantage.

The end result was a 52-49 loss to UAPB that left ASU at 2-13 overall, 0-4 - and alone - in the conference cellar.

"We're just not playing very good basketball right now," ASU coach Lewis Jackson said. "We had plenty of opportunities to win this game and just didn't get it done. They couldn't have given us more opportunities. And we didn't take them."

Leading by three with a just under 30 seconds remaining, UAPB (4-7, 1-2) missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw. But ASU couldn't get the rebound and was forced to foul.

With 16 second to go, Pine Bluff missed another one-and-one free throw. And finally, ASU grabbed the rebound.

The Hornets took the ball down the floor, where LaMarquis Blake missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner. Then, after a mad scramble for the ball and a jump-ball call that went ASU's way, Cedric Mitchell missed another 3-pointer from the other corner at the buzzer.

The loss ended a tantalizing comeback that saw ASU slice off most of a 16-point deficit. But the Hornets barely shot 30 percent for the game while UAPB connected on nearly 45 percent of its shots.

"We weren't playing any defense," Jackson said. "We made some adjustments and were able to cut into the lead."

Akeim Claborn was the only starter in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Reserve guard Dustin Richmond led ASU with 13 while Mitchell scored 10 off the bench.