BATON ROUGE, La. | Alabama State led for the majority of the first half and Southern went on a run midway through the second half, ending the Hornets season with a 67-53 victory at the F.G. Clark Activity Center in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Cricket Wireless Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Basketball Tournament.

Alabama State (8-24) scored the first seven points of the game over the first two minutes before Southern was forced to call a timeout. The seventh-seeded Hornets continued to lead by as many as five throughout the first half until a late Southern basket with 22 seconds remaining gave the second-seeded Jaguars their first lead.

They were able to build on that lead after Alabama State tied the game up early in the second half, using a 10-0 run to pull away for the win.

Kevion Stewart led Alabama State with 10 points off the bench, the lone player in double figures for the Hornets, while Jacoby Ross chipped in nine off the bench. Alabama State finished the night shooting 44.2 (23-of-52) percent from the floor and just 18.8 (3-of-16) percent from beyond the arc, and just 33.3 (4-of-12) percent from the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Darius Williams led four players in double figures for Southern (17-15) with 15 points, while Jayden Saddler added 14 off the bench. Micah Bradford added 12 points and five rebounds, while Damiree Burns added 10 for the Jaguars who finished the night shooting 41.8 (23-of-55) percent from the floor and 27.8 (5-of-18) percent from beyond the arc.

With the loss, the season ends for Alabama State while Southern advances to the semifinals of the conference tournament against third-seeded Texas Southern in Birmingham (Ala.).

Follow the Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University men's basketball, follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateMBB (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.