ITTA BENA, Miss. | Alabama State picked up their second road win of the season in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play, overcoming a double-digit to defeat Mississippi Valley State 85-80 in overtime at the Harrison HPER Complex Saturday night.
Terrance LeFlore and
Reginald Gee each poured in 17 points for Alabama State (4-18, 4-6 SWAC) in the win. Gee finished one rebound off from his first career double-double as he added a team-high nine rebounds. Meanwhile,
Jacoby Ross finished with 16 points, while
Gene Davis added 10 off the bench.
Branden Johnson scored eight points and eight rebounds, and came up with a big block late in the game for Alabama State which finished the night shooting 50 (32-of-64) percent from the floor and 42.3 (11-of-26) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 46.7 (14-of-30) percent from the free throw line and forced 12 Mississippi Valley State turnovers.
Alabama State trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and battled back to tie the game at 66-all with 7:52 to play in regulation, before taking a 68-66 lead on a Ross jumper with 6:30 to play. The two teams began trading baskets until Mississippi Valley State was able to grab a six-point lead, 77-71, on a pair of Jordan Evans free throws with 3:33 to play.
LeFlore then took over the game with a three-pointer to trim the score to 77-74 with 3:01 to play, and pulled the Hornets to within 78-76 with a jumper with just 2:34 to play in regulation. After a Mississippi Valley State lay-up by Arinze Anakwenze, LeFlore hit a free throw to pull Alabama State to within 80-77 with just 1:41 to play.
Mississippi Valley State had a chance to run out the clock, but a three-pointer by Evans missed and Alabama State was able to come away with the rebound. LeFlore drove to the basket with 27 seconds remaining, hanging in the air and getting a tough lay-up to fall over Dante Scott. LeFlore was fouled in the process and managed to hit the free throw to tie the game up at 80-all. He then came down on the other end of the floor and blocked a winning attempt by Evans as the clock expired to send it to overtime.
In the overtime period, Alabama State jumped out quick with a basket by Gee and a three-pointer by Ross with 2:59 to play to take an 85-80 lead. The lead stayed at five until Evans connected on a three-pointer with 1:57 to play to bring the Delta Devils to within 87-85.
Gee finished off the scoring with a tip-in with just 35 seconds to play to give Alabama State an 89-85 lead. Mississippi Valley State had three looks at a three-pointer in the final 21 seconds, but couldn't get any of the shots to fall.
Evans led Mississippi Valley State (1-21, 1-9 SWAC) with 22 points on 7-of-23 shooting from the floor, and added five assists, Scott and Lorenzo Hunt added 14 each in the loss for Mississippi Valley State which ended the night shooting 47.1 (33-of-70) percent from the floor, and 30 (6-of-20) percent from beyond the arc.
Alabama State returns to action Monday night against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on the road. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:30, with the pregame show beginning at 7:15 pm – or immediately following the women's game - on the Hornet Sports Network.
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