MONTGOMERY, Ala. | For the second time this season, Alabama State went down to the buzzer with an opponent. Unlike the first time this season, the Hornets were able to hold on as they forced a bad shot in a 59-57 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory Monday night over Jackson State at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

Alabama State (4-9, 2-0 SWAC) led for all by six minutes of the contest against Jackson State (4-11, 1-1 SWAC), and led by as many as six with 5:04 to play. However, Jackson State came back to pull to within two at 53-51 on a free throw from Chris Howell until Alabama State pushed it back to three at 56-53 with 2:02 to play on a Fausto Pichardo free throw.

After a Jackson State free throw trimmed the lead to 56-54 with 1:35 to play, the Tigers took the lead on a Lemmie Howard three-pointer with just 48 seconds remaining for a 57-56 lead. Alabama State took the lead on a pair of free throws from Reginald Gee with 33 seconds to play (58-57), and pushed it to 59-57 with eight seconds remaining on a free throw rom Jacoby Ross.

Jackson State got one last look to tie the game up, but Howell missed a runner in the lane and Alabama State cleared the rebound for the two-point victory.
Ross led Alabama State with 13 points and six rebounds, while Gee finished with just six points but grabbed eight rebounds in the win. The Hornets shot 41 (16-of-39) percent from the floor and just 30 (6-of-20) percent from beyond the arc. They knocked down 63.6 (21-of-33) percent of their free throws, and forced 19 Jackson State turnovers.

Meanwhile, Jontrell Walker led Jackson State with 11 points, while Jayveous McKinnis grabbed 11 rebounds for a team that shot 38 (19-of-50) percent from the floor. The Tigers also shot 36.4 (8-of-22) percent from beyond the arc and 61.1 (11-of-18) percent from the free throw line.

Noteworthy
Alabama State forced 19 turnovers by Jackson State, which tied for the third-highest this season forced by the Hornets;

For just the second time this season, Alabama State had just one player in double figures (Jacoby Ross with 13 points);

Alabama State won for the second consecutive time in the series over Jackson State, dating back to a win last season on March 1;

Ross scored in double figures for the ninth time this season, and the 24th time in his career in the win over Jackson State.

Quotable
"A win is a win, regardless how many points you win by. This was a tough battle tonight, and we knew it would be coming in to the game. We left a lot of points on the free throw line tonight, and if we were able to just knock down a few more we could have pulled away down the stretch. Every time we came down and did something positive, Jackson State had an answer." – head coach Lewis Jackson on the two-point win tonight over Jackson State

"They really came out and pressured us defensively, and took us out of our game plan. We like to run the ball, and they forced us into our half-court offense. We were able to get some good looks at the basket, and run some good offense. But again, we just have to knock down our free throws." – Jackson on the type of game his team faced Monday night

"This time has the kind of toughness you are looking for as a coach. On timeouts, they were on the bench encouraging each other and trying to pick each other up. In the past, during timeouts, we would get guys coming over and arguing about different things. This team has the leadership to go a long way in this conference. Picking up the win tonight and going undefeated at home to start is big, now we will go on the road and face a very good UAPB team." – Jackson about his team's mental state

Up Next
Alabama State hits the road to face UAPB next Saturday night in Pine Bluff (Ark.). The game is scheduled for a 7:30 pm tip and can be heard on the Hornet Sports Network.

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