Feb. 6, 2006

Final Stats

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - When Alabama State last played Arkansas-Pine Bluff in January, the Hornets looked like a team that had no designs on earning one of the eight spots in the Southwestern Athletic Conference postseason basketball tournament.

But the 0-4 hole the Hornets dug themselves in conference play after that early-season loss has disappated after a 60-46 win over the Golden Lions Monday night at H.O. Clemmons Arena. ASU is now 6-5 in league actions, 8-14 overall, and in a three-way tie for fourth place with Mississippi Valley and Alabama A&M.

In fact, loss to UAPB in Montgomery was clearly on the mind of Hornets head coach Lewis Jackson as he got his team prepared for the Golden Lions.

"We wanted to establish ourselves defensively," Jackson said. "When we played them earlier, they were able to get a lot of open looks and we wanted to shut that down. We made it a point of emphasis."

The Hornets put the clamps on UAPB, holding the Golden Lions to 25 percent shooting from the field and outrebounding them 49-31. Bama State didn't exactly tear it up from the field as leading scorers Akeim Claborn, Richard Lott, Jr., and Andrew Hayles were a combined 9-of-26 from the field.

"We were sluggish around the basket and guys weren't finishing their shots," Jackson said.

But ASU took the lead at 15:49 in the first half and never let go, getting up by as many as 12 points in the first half before settling for a 30-24 halftime advantage.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff would get as close as five points early in the second half but ASU would get the lead to double figures for good with eight-and-a-half minutes left and ultimately held a 15-point advantage in the second half.

Hayles scored a game-high 13 points and Cedric Mitchell added 12 points and six rebounds for the Hornets, who have another tough task ahead when they travel to Alabama A&M Sunday.

"We got going against Alabama A&M and since them, our confidence has been improved," Jackson said. "We've been playing decent basketball but we have a tough opponent coming up and it's a rivalry game so we have to be ready.