MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State and Louisiana Tech will meet for the fifth time in school history, this time on a neutral floor, as the two will face off in the New Orleans Classic on day one of tournament.
 
The game will tip at 2:30 pm Thursday at the Convocation Center on the campus of Xavier (La.) University.
 
The two teams met last season with Louisiana Tech coming away with an 87-56 victory on their home floor to grab a 3-1 series lead. In that contest, Torloft Thomas and Mikel Tyson each had 12 points to lead Alabama State, while Reginald Gee added nine in the loss.
 
The tournament will be the second for the Hornets and Louisiana Tech each this season, as Alabama State played in the Cayman Islands Classic Chattanooga Bracket earlier in November against Chattanooga and Savannah State. Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech (7-4) won the Cancun Challenge in Mexico earlier this season in a four-team bracket.
 
Gee leads Alabama State (0-10) in scoring this season at 13.1 points per game, and the sophomore has scored in double figures in six of the 10 games thus far for the Hornets. The sophomore is shooting 42.9 (21-of-49) percent from the floor and leads the conference from the free throw line at 84.2 (32-of-38) percent.
 
Jacoby Ross comes off the bench averaging 10.3 points per game this season following a 30-point performance against Winthrop, in which he scored the last 17 points of the game. The New Orleans-native will be returning to home for the only time this season for a contest. Meanwhile, Branden Johnson and Ed Jones are each averaging 7.1 points per game, with Johnson grabbing 5.6 rebounds per game and has blocked 15 shots in 10 games.
 
Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech is led Jalen Harris – who paces three players in double figures – with 15.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. DeQuan Bracey averages 15.2 points per game, while Jacobi Boykins averages 13.3 and 5.5 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs enter the game after dropping three of their last four games this season, and back-to-back games for the first time.
 
Alabama State will be playing their ninth game on the road this season, as they opened the year with eight consecutive games on the road.
 
The Hornets will play either Fort Wayne or Liberty, with a time to be determined, on Friday afternoon to cap off play in New Orleans and for the 2017 calendar year before opening conference play on January 1.
 
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