MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It was good to be back home for the Alabama State men's basketball team.

The Hornets battled back and forth in a spirited contest with Fort Valley State before ending on a 10-2 run in the final 3:20 to claim a 75-68 victory at the Dunn Oliver Acadome on Thursday night. 

Alabama State (2-10) rediscovered their shooting touch as the team shot a much improved 48 percent from the floor.

"We were able to shoot it a little better than we have in the past," said ASU head men's basketball coach Lewis Jackson.

"We have to continue to work to improve.  Right now, we're struggling and we have to be better defensively and do a better job of taking care of the basketball."

While the team committed a high number of turnovers (21), it was able to get some offense flowing once again from several players. 

The team had gone through a three-game stretch where it failed to crack 50 points in a game.

Not on Thursday.

Demetruis Houston was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field including an eye-opening tip dunk in the first half as he scored 15 points to go along with a team-best eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals. 

"He [Houston] hadn't played in maybe a year or so," Jackson said.

"He shot it well tonight.  He had a lot of turnovers, but that will get better.  He just has to make better decisions when he gets the ball and also attack the basket.  He'll be fine in that area.  He brings an added dimension to the team that we need.  He's super athletic.  He's a guy that can go to the top and elevate way up and finish strong at the rim.  He's a high flyer and we will be counting on him to do some things."

Three other Hornets also reached double digits in scoring as Tony Armstrong led the way with 16 points (6-of-7 shooting) while Rodney Simeon added 11 and Reginald Gee came off the bench to chip in with 10 points in 17 minutes of action. 

ASU trailed by one at halftime in large part to 11 first half turnovers, but came up big when it mattered the most.

Houston sunk a jumper to help the Hornets reclaim the lead at 67-66 with 3:20 remaining. 

Alabama State closed out by making 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch (four from Torloft Thomas, two from Houston, one from Gee and one from Terrance LeFlore).

LeFlore also finished with a game-high seven assists.

Next, the Hornets will open conference play as they entertain Grambling State on Monday at 7:30 p.m. from the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.   

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