Game Notes

MONTGOMERY—Alabama State enters the final two regular season home games of the season starting with Saturday's game against Prairie View A&M at 5 p.m.
 
The Hornets have won two of their last three games including a big road win at Alcorn State this past Monday.  With the win, ASU moved into fourth place in the conference and the final four games could see the Hornets seeded anywhere from second to sixth at the conference tournament depending on the outcome of the games.

ASU (9-18/7-7 SWAC) actually holds its fate in its own hands.  ASU could be the second seed in the tournament by winning all of their final four games.  Starting these final four games at home should be a plus for ASU.
 
“It is very important for us to come out and play well at home because it is a home game and we always want to play hard and extremely well in front of your fans, but it is our next game period,” Head Coach Lewis Jackson said.  “You have to go out and compete at a high level and give yourself and opportunity to win the ball game.  This time of the year we are pushing for position in the tournament and we have a lot to play for.”
 
PVAMU (11-16/6-8 SWAC) comes into the game looking to gain some ground in the conference standings as well.  They bring a team into Montgomery that is the fourth leading offensive team in the conference and is the leading rebounding team in the SWAC.
 
“They are a good strong ball club and they are really good on the offensive boards,” Jackson said.  “We have to do a good job of taking care of that part of the game (rebounding) and being able to make shots.”
 
The Hornets lost a tough 74-72 decision at PVAMU back on Jan. 26.  It was a game which saw ASU trail 67-51 with 5:54 left in the game.  It was then ASU went on a run and cut the lead down to 73-72 with the ball and eight seconds on the clock.  As the Hornets were into running their play, Denzell McDaniel slipped on the floor with the ball going out of bounds with just two seconds left on the clock.
 
“We had a tough game down at their place,” Head Coach Lewis Jackson said.  “We got down, fought back and actually put ourselves in position to win the game with the possession and eight seconds to go on the clock in regulation and we turned the ball over.”
 
ASU continues to be led in scoring by Joshua Freelove (13.4 ppg) and Phillip Crawford (12.6 ppg).  Crawford now leads ASU in rebounding at 5.3 per game and Jamel Waters has a team-high 89 assists and also leads the team in steals with 50.
 
PVAMU comes into Montgomery with one of the leading scorers in the conference.  Jourdan DeMuynck averages 14.6 points per game and he also averages 6.3 rebounds per game.  He is the only Panther scoring in double digits as Carl Blair is next averaging 9.7 and is one of the top assists-men in the conference with 132.
 
ASU knows to be able to compete they must continue to show improvement each game which is what they have been doing over the past few weeks.
 
“We are playing pretty decent and hopefully we can come out and play as well as we played on the road,” Jackson said.  “They have believed all along and they seemed to be more in tune with what we are wanting them to do and are more focused on that as well.  Hopefully, we can come out and take advantage of the effort and the advantages the home crowd and we can come out and get a win.”