MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University men's basketball team couldn't slow down a hot-shooting Prairie View A&M team in the second half as the Hornets fell, 77-58, during Senior Night on Monday in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
"This was a very bad loss tonight," Alabama State head coach Lewis Jackson said. "It was a very bad loss for it being the very last regular season home game and Senior Night. We expected our seniors to step up and lead and lead the attack. We struggled throughout the course of the game. We got early on them and was able to go up six or eight points. Then we don't score for the last six minutes of the first half. We come out for the second half just as flat.:
 
Rodney Simeon led Alabama State with 14 points, including three 3-pointers, four assists and two rebounds. Torloft Thomas added 10 points, two assists, two rebounds and one block as the Hornets (8-20 overall, 6-10 SWAC) shot 50 percent (23-of-46) from the field and 50 percent (6-of-12) from the free-throw line.
 
It was a back-and-forth game for the first 10 minutes of the opening half before Alabama State used an 8-2 run, capped by a Steve Rogers 3-pointer with 6:37 left to give the Hornets a 28-22 advantage. Prairie View A&M answered with a 12-0 run, holding the Hornets to no field goals over the final six minutes, to close out the half and take a 34-28 lead into the break.
 
The Panthers (11-19, 8-8) opened the second half on a 12-5 run, capped by a Ja'Donta Blakley 3-pointer to extend the lead to 46-33 with 15:33 remaining. Alabama State cut the deficit to 51-42 after a Corvon Butler free throw with 13:21 left.
 
Prairie View A&M outscored Alabama State, 18-4, over the next eight minutes and didn't look back.
 
Tevin Bellinger led four Panther players in double figures with 20 points, three assists and two steals. Zachary Hamilton finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Blakely added 13 points and a game-high eight assists. Troy Thompson chipped in with 12 points as Prairie View A&M finished the night shooting 29-of-54 (53.7 percent) and 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
Prior to the game Alabama State honored three seniors – Tony Armstrong, Corvon Butler and Torloft Thomas – during the Senior Night festivities.
 
Alabama State takes to the road to conclude the regular season as the Hornets visit Grambling State on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
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