Final Boxscore
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In a battle of two of the top basketball teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, a free throw by senior
Menji Mundadi with six seconds left propelled Alabama State to a 62-61 victory over Texas Southern Saturday night at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
The win, ASU's fifth in a row, upped the Hornets season mark to 9-10 overall and moved them into a second-place tie with Texas Southern (10-10) in the SWAC at 6-2. The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Tigers.
“Our guys have really been playing well the last couple of weeks,” said ASU head coach
Lewis Jackson, who improved to 9-1 all-time against TSU. “The team is starting to play together and we are getting a more consistent effort especially on the defensive end. This was a big win for us as we come to the close of the first half of conference play.”
Tramayne Moorer posted his third double-double of the season finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets.
Tramaine Butler led ASU with 18 points and Mundadi finished with 15 along with a career-best seven boards.
Junior Treasure scored 18 points to lead a trio of Tiger players in double figures. Travele Jones had 17 and Deandre Hall chipped in 14 for TSU in the loss.
The Hornets swarmed the Tigers on both ends of the floor over the opening four minutes of the game. ASU scored the first 11 points of the contest and forced four straight turnovers by TSU in seizing the early momentum.
Four different players scored for Bama State in the early run beginning with a three-pointer by Mundadi followed by baskets from Butler, Moorer and
Byron Walker before a layup from Mundadi capped the surge.
Treasure finally got Texas Southern on the board hitting a three-pointer at the 16:15 mark to end the Tigers' scoring drought. Following a timeout, TSU started to get things flowing on offense using a 14-7 run over the next five minutes to trim the deficit to three points, 20-17, with xx left to play.
The squads continued trading baskets in a flurry of end-to-end action and Alabama State maintained an advantage until Treasure buried another trey from the top of the key with 1:11 remaining to give Texas Southern its first lead of the game. Neither team was able to score in the final minute allowing the Tigers to hold a 32-31 halftime advantage.
Both teams shot extremely well in the opening half with TSU connecting at a 66 percent (14-21) clip and the Hornets making 13 of 26 shots for 50 percent.
The second half featured a series of runs as Alabama State and Texas Southern each showed flashes of offensive fire power.
Moorer opened the second half with a three-pointer briefly putting Alabama State back in the lead. However, the Tigers answered with a 12-4 spurt in building their largest lead of the game, 44-38, with 15:01 left in the game.
