MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Jacoby Ross paced five players in double figures for Alabama State as the Hornets ended a three-game losing streak with an 82-59 victory over Mississippi Valley State in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play Monday night at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

Ross led Alabama State (9-13, 7-4 SWAC) with 17 points, including four three-pointers on the night; while AJ Farrar finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. He finished the night shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers.

Reginald Gee, Kevin Holston and Leon Daniels each finished with 10 points, while Fausto Pichardo finished with eight points and Branden Johnson grabbed eight rebounds.

Alabama State finished the night shooting 43.1 (28-of-65) percent from the floor and 34.6 (9-of-26) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the night shooting 85 (17-of-20) percent from the free throw line, while forcing 17 Mississippi Valley State turnovers.

Jordan Evans led Mississippi Valley State (3-22, 1-10 SWAC) with 21 points, while Emmanuel Ejeh grabbed 10 rebounds for the Delta Devils who finished the night shooting 31.8 (21-of-66) percent from the floor and just 28.6 (4-of-14) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 68.4 (13-of-19) percent from the free throw line, while grabbing 46 rebounds.

Noteworthy
Alabama State led just 35-27 at the break, but built a 28-point lead late in the second half in pulling away from Mississippi Valley State.

These same two teams played to overtime in Itta Bena (Miss.) earlier this season, with the Hornets trailing by eight with 1:27 to play before winning the game with just eight-tenths of a second remaining in the extra period.

Alabama State had five players in double figures for the first time this season, with Ross and Farrar combining for 33 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor.

Farrar missed his fourth double-double by just one rebound, finishing the night with nine total rebounds; while Pichardo missed scoring in double figures for sixth time in his career by just two points.

Alabama State committed just nine turnovers in the win, tying a season-low they had against South Dakota State in the second game of the season.

Quotable
"We needed this win, and came out with the intensity that showed we needed to win this game. Our goal was to go undefeated this year at home, and we lost a tough one at home on Saturday, but we did what we had to do tonight to come out with the win. We moved the ball better offense, but our defense was key to us winning tonight." – Alabama State head coach Lewis Jackson on the win

"We had a different attitude when we took the floor tonight, and it showed. We shot the ball better from the free throw line, and did a good job of attacking the boards when we had the opportunity. Our bigs – Fox, Branden, AJ and Ed – all did a good job of banging around with the two big guys; and then Gee took the ball hard in on them a few times. That was our plan from the outset, and our guys stuck to the script and did what we asked them to do." – Jackson on the team as a whole Monday night

"We knew they were going to get up some shots, we just wanted to settle in defensively and force them to take bad shots. We were about to get our hands on a lot of balls tonight defensively, and the zone really worked against their shooters." – Jackson on his team's defense

What's Next
Alabama State returns home Saturday evening against their in-state rival Alabama A&M, looking to keep pace with the top teams in the conference race.

The Hornets look for the sweep with tip set for 5 pm (cst), and the game will be carried by the Hornet Sports Network beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes before tip.

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