FInal Boxscore

MONTGOMERY, Ala. –Jackson State spoiled Alabama State's “Senior Night” and a determined second half rally in escaping with a 60-59 victory Saturday night at Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

ASU (15-14, 12-6 SWAC) saw its season-best win streak halted at six after suffering its second one-point loss of the season to Jackson State (19-11, 17-1 SWAC).

The win was the 13th in a row for the Tigers, who won the SWAC regular season title and earned the top seed at the upcoming conference tournament. Bama State will be the No. 3 seed.

Senior Tramayne Moorer scored 19 points to lead the Hornets in his final home game while also collecting five rebounds. Menji Mundadi finished with all of his 14 points in the second half followed by 10 from Tramaine Butler.

Garrison Johnson was Jackson State's top performer finishing with 20 points while De'Suan Dixon chipped in 14 for the Tigers.

“This was a tough loss especially for our seniors,” said ASU head coach Lewis Jackson, who moved to 4-9 all-time against Jackson State. “We dug ourselves a pretty big hole in the first half, but I was really proud of the way our guys battled back in the second half. We gave ourselves a chance to win the game and that is really all you can ask for after such a rough start. I thought we had good effort and this is just another building step for us as we head into the tournament.”

The two squads traded the lead several times in the early going before Jackson State used a 10-0 run to grab a 15-6 advantage with 10:46 left in the first half. ASU answered with six quick points to pull closer, but the Tigers then ran off 12 straight points on the strength of a determined defensive effort building a 15-point lead, 27-12, at the 8:30 mark.

The game was evenly played for much of the remainder of the half until a final six-point surge by JSU capped with a three-pointer by Tyrone Hanson in the closing seconds. The trey gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game, 37-19, heading into the halftime break.

The Hornets struggled offensively in the opening period making just 5-of-17 field goal attempts (29.4 percent) while JSU connected at a 50 percent pace hitting 11-of-22. The Tigers also forced six first half turnovers while committing just one of their own.

A renewed ASU defense greeted the visiting Tigers at the start of the second half as Bama State quickly trimmed the deficit to just eight, 37-29, scoring 10 straight points. Johnson ended the JSU drought with a three at the 14:38 mark.

From that point, the game settled into a back-and-forth battle expected from two of the SWAC's top squads. Jackson State would extend the lead only to see Bama State fight back and cut into the margin.

Despite their best efforts, the Hornets were unable to trim their deficit to single digits until Moorer keyed a late 13-2 run that made the score 59-57 with 25 seconds left. The senior scored seven points during the ASU comeback that also included a thunderous putback dunk from Butler.

Johnson made one of two free throw attempts with 20 seconds remaining giving the Tigers a three-point lead. However, on the Hornets next possession Moorer converted a quick layup to make the score, 60-59, with 11 ticks left on the clock. A missed free throw by Hanson set up a furious scramble at the end of the game.

ASU collected the rebounds and rushed the ball up the court getting it to Chris Duncan for the apparent go ahead lay-up, but Hanson was able to recover to block the attempt sending the ball rolling out of bounds and giving ASU a final chance with 1.6 showing on the clock.

Mundadi's game-winning attempt at the buzzer caromed off the front of the rim allowing the Tigers to survive with the win.

With the regular season concluded, Alabama State now turns its focus toward postseason play in the 2010 Farmers Insurance SWAC Basketball Tournament at the Century Tel Center in Shreveport, La. The No. 3 seeded Hornets open tournament action against No. 6 seed Alabama A&M Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ASU swept the regular season series against the Bulldogs.