MONTGOMERY, Ala. | The Alabama State University men's basketball team opens the season Friday night on the road facing SEC-foe Mississippi State University at "The Hump."
The Hornets, coming off of two exhibition victories, will open the season with their first eight games on the road beginning with the game against the Bulldogs. Heading into the contest against Mississippi State, the Hornets averaged 72 points per game in their two exhibition games; which included a high of 76 against Auburn Montgomery in the exhibition finale.
The backcourt of
Reginald Gee and
Terrance LeFlore averaged 28 points combined per exhibition game, as each scored 11 against Fort Valley State and 17 against Auburn Montgomery.
Junior college transfer,
Ed Jones led the Hornets in the first exhibition contest against Fort Valley State as he poured in 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jones is one of 10 newcomers on this year's team as Alabama State looks to rebuild after losing eight players off of last year's team.
Alabama State was picked to finish sixth in the conference this season on a vote by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, with
Rodney Simeon being selected Second Team Preseason All-Conference.
The contest Friday night will be the only time that Alabama State faces an SEC opponent, but will not be the only contest on television. The Hornets will play three of their first four games on air (Big 10 Network and Pac-12 Network), with all of those contests being on the road. They will also play a home game against Alcorn State in February on ESPNU.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State enters the game after a splitting a pair of exhibition games, losing to Nebraska and defeating West Florida. In those two contests, Quinndary Weatherspoon led the Bulldogs averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Aric Holman added 10.5 points per game, while Lamar Peters added 9.5 points per game. EJ Datcher also grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game for Mississippi State.
Mississippi State leads the overall series 3-0 overall over Alabama State.
The game tips off at 5:30 pm (cst) and can be seen on the SEC Network+, using the WatchESPN app.
Follow the Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University men's basketball, please follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateMBK (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.
