HOUSTON, Texas—Alabama State University men's basketball team will begin their final regular season road trip of the season when they play at Texas Southern University on Saturday, Feb. 25 beginning at 4:30 p.m.  The game is scheduled to broadcast live on SWAC TV.
 
The Hornets realize the mountain they must climb but they also realize the possibilities if they can win these two road games and close out with wins in their final two games at home.
 
“As we have looked at these last four ball games we can finish as high as second in the league and that is something we are excited about,” head coach Lewis Jackson said.  “Of course we are in the toughest two places in our conference out here in Texas, but we are excited about being here and we are excited about our chances.”
 
ASU (10-16/7-7 SWAC) will enter the contest against Texas Southern (10-16/9-5 SWAC) two games behind the Tigers in the conference standings.  With Southern University's absence at the SWAC Tournament this season, TSU is holding down the second seed in the conference as Mississippi Valley State has assured itself of the top seed.
 
ASU is tied with Prairie View A&M for the third seed and can make a strong move with wins against the always tough Texas opponents.
 
“We feel like at this stage we have seen everyone in the conference once and a lot of the teams twice and we know we can beat any of the teams,” Jackson stated.  “It will just come down to us doing the necessary things to win and that is taking care of the basketball, taking good shots and taking care of the ball a lot more than we are right now.”
 
TSU will enter the contest as the top-ranked defense in the conference.  They are allowing their opponents 63.8 points per game and the opponents are only shooting .416 percent from the field.  On top of that, TSU is also the leading three-point shooting team in the conference, knocking down .331 percent of their three-point attempts.
 
Omar Strong leads TSU and is seventh in the conference in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game.  He is also the SWAC's top three-point shooter hitting .393 percent of his threes and his 79 made three's also leads the conference.
 
ASU has two players averaging in double digits, led by Tramaine Butler's 11.4 points per game.  Philip Crawford is next at 11.2 points per game and averages 5.8 rebounds per game.  Ivory White is close to double digits, averaging 9.8 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game.
 
ASU defeated TSU 66-59 in overtime back on Jan. 30.  The Tigers held a 48-30 lead with nine minutes left in the game, but ASU was able to come all the way back and send the game into overtime on a steal and layup from White with a second left in the game.  From there ASU outscored TSU 12-5 in the overtime period to complete the comeback win.
 
The Hornets know what they will need to do to have a chance to pull out a road contest at TSU.
 
“We are here at Texas Southern and it is always to a tall challenge anytime you play them,” Jackson said.  “What we have to do to give ourselves the opportunity to win the ball game is to attack them from inside their zone and try to get to the rim.  They want you to shoot a lot of jump shots and sometimes you have to do that, but you have to go inside and get to the interior of that defense and make them play around the basket.”