Montgomery — Troy Jackson scored 16 of his game high 25 points in the final 11 minutes of play Monday night to lift Alcorn State to a 79-74 upset win over Alabama State University.

It was a tight game throughout with three ties and eight lead changes.

Alcorn State (4-16, 2-6 in SWAC) jumped out to a quick 11-point advantage at the 15:58 mark of the first half of play.  The Hornets whittled away at the deficit, cutting it to four points (26-22) on a three-point shot at the top of the key by ASU's Ivory White with 8:32 on the clock.

A first tie of the game came at the 1:44 mark when Brandon Brooks hit a jumper to knot the score 33-33.  The Hornets then went on a 5-0 run to take a 38-36 lead into the half.

With 5:18 left on the clock, the Hornets pulled within two points of the Braves (64-66), but an 8-0 run put the game away for Alcorn State.

JaMarkus Holt added 11 points for Alcorn State, which snapped a two-game losing streak with more than half of conference play yet to go. Jarvis Williams and Brandon Rogers each added 10 points for the Braves.

Chief Kickingstallionsims had 24 points to pace ASU. Wesley Jones and Andrew Hayles added 12 each for Alabama State (9-8, 6-1), which has won seven out of its last eight games.

Hayles had 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who posted his first double-double of the season. Tremaine Butler added nine points for the Hornets.

The Hornets have an important two-game road trip this weekend. They face Prairie View (9-11, 5-2), tied for second in the conference race, on Saturday, Jan. 31, and Texas Southern (1-19, 1-6) on Monday, Feb. 2. Both games will tip off at 5:30 p.m.