Box Score
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Denzell McDaniel (16 points) and Jamel Waters (15 points) scored career-highs in leading Alabama State to a 70-66 win over Jackson State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
 
McDaniel came off the bench and scored all of his points in the second half and his three-pointer with 7:43 left in the game gave the Hornets a 48-45 lead and they would never trail again.
 
“They came out and took it to us in the first half,” Head Coach Lewis Jackson said.  “They came out and made a few three's early and was able to get into the lane and attack the basket and we actually went into the half down one.”
 
The Hornets (3-11/1-0) actually pushed their lead out to eight points twice during the final few minutes (55-47 and 56-48) only to see the Tigers come back behind Dundrecous Nelson who scored 10 of his game-high 29 points over a four minute run before fouling out with 32 seconds left and the Hornets holding a slim 66-64 lead.
 
ASU scored its final basket with a Waters short jumper with 1:17 left.  From there the Hornets knocked down six of eight free throws to keep JSU at arm's length.
 
“We came out in the second half and really wanted to attack them,” Jackson said.  “McDaniel and Waters made some plays down the stretch and we were able to hold off a good team.”
 
The Hornets scored 33 bench points tonight led by McDaniel and Ryan Watts' who had 10.  ASU also out rebounded JSU 40-35 as Shawntez Patterson and Stephawn Brown grabbed seven each.
 
Waters led the Hornets defensive effort with another career-high, six steals, as the Hornets finished with 10.  Waters also had two assists and four rebounds while knocking down five of his eight field goals.
 
“We wanted to get Denzell some minutes in the second half because he can play the one or two for us,” Jackson added.  “He really went in and played hard for us and made some plays and knocked down those foul shots.”
 
“Jamel is a young guy, but he understands what we are wanting in our offense.  He got in there and also played solid defense and got his hands on a lot of balls. Waters can score, but we are trying to make him a pass first guy and he does a good job of getting us into our offense.”
 
ASU only shot 40 percent from the field but hit 20 of 31 free throws (65%) and hit eight of 21 three point attempts (38%).
 
JSU shot 45 percent from the field, but Dundrecous, the Ole Miss transfer, was the only Tiger to reach double digits.  The Tigers only hit four of their 21 three point attempts (19%) and struggled at the free throw line hitting 10 of 20 (50%).
 
The first half did not start out like the Hornets were hoping as they fell behind 10-0 after two Nelson free throws at the 15:21 mark.  It was then the Hornets started to inch their way back into the game starting with a Joshua Freelove three.  ASU went on to cut the lead to 18-16 after a Watts steal and Waters layup with 8:32 left.
 
JSU did not stay down long as they pushed the lead back out to 24-16, taking advantage of consecutive Hornet turnovers.  From there the Hornets outscored JSU 9-2 over the final five minutes of the half to only trail 26-25 going into the locker room.
 
“We were able to get this one tonight, but it is a long way to go,” said Jackson.  “We know there are a lot of things that can happen over the course of a season, but it was a good win for us and got us off to a good start and we need to get Grambling coming up Friday.”
 
ASU will conclude the three-game home stand as they host Grambling State Friday, Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.