JACKSON, Miss. | Alabama State ventures on the road for the tenth time this season, opening conference play Monday night at Jackson State – the first of two road conference games this week for the Hornets.
The game tips at 7:30 pm from the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center, and can be heard on the Hornet Sports Network.
Reginald Gee leads the Hornets in scoring this season, averaging 13.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He is shooting 35.9 (47-of-131) percent from the floor and 39.0 (23-of-59) percent from beyond the arc, while leading the conference from the free throw line at 85.7 (42-of-49) percent. Meanwhile,
Jacoby Ross averages 10.1 points and 2.5 assists per game off the bench and has scored 20-plus points twice this season, including a 30-point performance against Winthrop in mid-December.
Rodney Simeon averaged 8.8 points and has attempted 30 three-pointers in just four games, while
Ed Jones is averaging 7.8 points per game after a career-high 16-point performance against Liberty December 22.
Alabama State (0-12) has played the third-toughest schedule in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), only behind Texas Southern (toughest in the nation) and Prairie View A&M, and opens conference play against a team they were swept by last season. The Hornets dropped their contest at Jackson State to close the regular season last year, 65-59 despite 15 points from
Rodney Simeon.
Chace Franklin leads Jackson State (3-10), who has lost six of their last seven games, at 13.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Maurice Rivers is averaging 12.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Paris Collins is at 10.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game – while also dishing out a team-high 27 assists. The Tigers are undefeated at home (2-0) with their last game at home coming back on December 11.
The Hornets will stay on the road, heading south Wednesday to face Grambling State for a 7:30 pm tip from the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center with the game being carried on the Hornet Sports Network.
The two teams split their meetings last season, each winning on their own home floor. The Hornets claimed a 73-69 victory at home (1/2/17), before the dropped an 82-69 contest in Grambling (3/2/17).
Ivy Smith, Jr. leads Grambling (4-9) at 15.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, while also dishing out a team-high 75 assists. Diontae Jones is averaging 11.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Axel Mpoyo averages 10.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season for the Tigers who come into the contest having dropped four of their last five contests.
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