MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State overcomes sluggish second half to win their Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) home opener over Mississippi Valley State 81-75 at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome Saturday night.

The game was originally scheduled for 5 pm, however, the threat of inclement weather forced the game to be moved later in the day and extended late into the night for both teams.

Leon Daniels led four Alabama State (2-14, 1-2 SWAC) in double figures with 20 points and eight rebounds, while knocking down 8-of-15 shots from the floor – including a pair of three-pointers. Tobi Ewuosho added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Jacoby Ross added 11 off the bench.

Decardo Day added 10 for the Hornets, while Brandon Battle finished with nine point and nine rebounds. DJ Heath added six assists for the Hornets who finished the night shooting 45.9 (28-of-61) percent from the floor and 52.4 (11-of-21) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot just 51.9 (14-of-27) percent from the free throw line, while winning the rebounding battle 42-40.

Alabama State used a big first half to pull away from the Delta Devils.

The Hornets shot 56.8 (21-of-37) percent from the floor in the first half, including 64.3 (9-of-14) percent shooting from beyond the arc to race out to a 54-31 halftime lead. However, Mississippi Valley State came out in the second half on a 14-3 run over the first four minutes to get to within 12 at 57-45.

Alabama State was able to withstand the charge over the next minutes to outscore Mississippi Valley State by six to take a 64-58 lead with 10:04 remaining in the game. The Hornets were able to answer the runs down the stretch by Mississippi Valley State to hold for the win.

After the Delta Devils pulled to within 73-70 with just under two minutes to play, Ewuosho drove to the basket for a reverse layup before missing the subsequent free throw for a 75-70 lead with 1:20 remaining. However, Torico Simmons came right back for MVSU and drained a three-pointer from the right wing to cut the Alabama State lead to 75-73 with 1:09 to play.

The Hornets were able to answer with just 49.0 seconds remaining when Brandon Battle, who struggled from the line by missing three of his first four free throws, knocked a pair down for a 77-73 lead. However, Mississippi Valley State answered on their end offensively when Caleb Hunter was fouled on a three-point opportunity with just 34.5 seconds to play, and he connected on two of his three free opportunities to trim the deficit to 77-75.

Ross and Battle were able to put the game away at the line by knocking down four consecutive free throws in the final 30 seconds for the final margin.

Simmons led Mississippi Valley State (0-14, 0-2 SWAC) with 26 points, while Caleb Hunter added 20 and Jordan Lyons 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Delta Devils finished the night shooting 35.2 (25-of-71) percent from the floor and 22.6 (7-of-31) percent from beyond the arc.

Alabama State returns to action Monday night against UAPB in conference action at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. The game tips at 7:30 pm and will be carried by the Hornet Sports Network.

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