MONTGOMERY , Ala. | Alabama State used a pair of double-doubles by Gerald Liddell (Cibolo, Texas) and Jordan O'Neal (Mobile, Ala.) to push past North Carolina Central 80-74 in overtime at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Saturday night.

Liddell paced Alabama State (1-5) with 22 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes of action, including hitting a lay-up to tie the game with just 6.6 seconds left in overtime and sealing the win at the line in the extra frame. Meanwhile, O'Neal finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds (including six offensive boards) while playing just 32 minutes after fouling out in regulation.

The two finished just eight rebounds shy of the entire North Carolina Central team.

Juan Reyna (San Antonio, Texas) finished with 14 points including a big three in overtime to put the Hornets up, while Isaiah Range (Cedar Hill, Texas) finished with 11.
Alabama State led late in the second half before North Carolina Central stormed back from a seven-point deficit at 66-59 with just under four minutes to play to take a two-point led with under 30 seconds left in regulation. After a timeout, Liddell drove the length of the floor and hit a lay-up to tie the game, before DJ Jackson (San Bernardino, Calf.) had a chance to win it at the buzzer after a steal but missed an off-balance three-pointer.

The Hornets finished the night shooting 43.5 (27-of-62) percent from the floor and 35.0 (7-of-20) from beyond the arc. They also finished the night shooting 67.9 (19-of-28) percent from the free throw line.

Randy Miller, Jr. led North Carolina Central with 23 points.

UP NEXT
Alabama State returns to action at home against Tuskegee on Monday night at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. Tip is set for 7 pm and admission is $5. Alabama State University is a mask mandatory campus and masks must be worn at all times.

QUOTES from head coach Mo Williams
"I told the guys before the game that this was going to be a tough game, and they did a great job of responding. In a game like this you have to respond to runs. They are a well-coached team, and we knew what we were getting ourselves into. We were ready to play tonight."

"Coming off a brutal road trip we were on, to come home to our crowd, to sleep in our own beds; that is an incredible feeling for one. To come out and have our backs against the wall coming down the stretch in the second half, giving up a six-point lead, forcing overtime and just responding in overtime. We held them to 22 percent in overtime, we shot 50 percent and made our free throws. That's how you win basketball games."

"Turnovers. That has been our Achilles heel. That is something we have to get better at, teams smell it and it's not going to get easy going forward."

"He (O'Neal) dominated, he dominated. I saw it shootaround today with JO. It was just a different mentality that I haven't seen so far this year, and I think he had his mind made up to go out and be special. We all know that he has it in him, he just has to go out there and prove it. To be able to come out with a mindset, just be consistent, and this is the game I hope gets him there."

"That's what I brought him (Liddell) here for. He hasn't been in this role in a while coming from Texas, but I coached him in high school. I know what he is capable of. The more he gets comfortable he will get there; I think tonight helped because we spent a little more time on the offense, and he is learning it a little bit. That is always going to help, knowing where to get your shots and where they are coming from and not do anything out of body. That is when we can have some special things done on the court."

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