Final Box

MONTGOMERY—Shamir Davis scored a career-high 27 points and the Northwestern State defense swatted 11 Hornet shots as the Demons defeated Alabama State University 67-60 in the home opener for the Hornets.
 
Davis had 12 points at halftime on five-of-six shooting and stayed hot in the second half scoring 15 points on six-of-eight shooting to score the game-high 27 points.
 
Davis was not the only Demon to hit double-digits as Gary Roberson scored 13 and Gary Stewart scored 11.  William Mosley had eight points, but had a game-high 15 rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
The taller visitors took advantage of their size as they recorded 11 blocked shots and grabbed 43 rebounds, but it was the defense in the second half that shut down the Hornets.
 
ASU went into the locker room at halftime with a slim 34-33 lead after Tramaine Butler scored 10 points, but the Hornets were able to out rebound NSU 28-18 to help offset the taller Demons.
 
That all changed in the second half as NSU came out with a full court press and was able to speed up the game.  They were able to use their length and athleticism into forcing nine turnovers and scoring several break away baskets.  ASU only shot 28 percent in the second half against the Demons' defense while NSU knocked down 50 percent (13-26) of their shots.
 
Marvin Frazier scored off an offensive rebound at the 12:02 mark to give NSU a 46-44 lead, and they would never relinquish the lead again.  The closest ASU would get would be with 11:46 left in the game on a three-pointer from Kenderek Washington to cut the lead to 46-45.  From there NSU would push the lead out to as many as 12 before ASU scored the final five points to make the final 67-60.
 
“We are a little thin around the basket right now and we have to get better at that position,” head coach Lewis Jackson said.  “We are not executing well enough on offense, and we are not fluid enough to where we are making good decisions and defensively we are playing hard but we are not boxing out the guys off the glass.”
 
Butler, making his first appearance of the season, finished with a team-high 18 points and Washington finished with 13.  Ivory White also hit double-digits with 11 points.
 
ASU did finish the game with a two-rebound advantage (45-43) with White completing a double-double with 10 boards.
 
“We still have a lot of work to do on some things and trying to make sure we get better on the defensive side of the ball and continue to work on boxing out, playing tough defense, communicating on screens and things like that,” Jackson said.  “The guys gave a good effort, but we are not playing fluid enough to make the mistakes that we have been making.”
 
The Hornets drop to 0-3 on the season while NSU evens their record at 2-2.  ASU will be back on the road in their final game of the Global Sports Challenge when they play at Jacksonville State, Saturday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m.


-HORNETS-