MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State trailed by as many as nine before coming back in the second half to take the lead, but it was free throws down the stretch by Mississippi Valley State that handed the Hornets a 68-65 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) loss at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome Monday night.

Alabama State (3-8, 3-8 SWAC) trailed 40-31 with 18:13 remaining in the contest, but ultimately came back to take a three-point lead at 64-61 with 3:08 to play in the game. However, a Terry Collins three-pointer tied the game at 64-all with 2:46 to play in the game, before the Delta Devils were able to connect on a pair of free throws to take a two-point lead, and they used another by Caleb Hunter to push the lead to 67-65 with 13 seconds remaining.

The Hornets had a chance but missed a shot with just over five seconds remaining, and Hunter put the game away at the line for Mississippi Valley State.

DJ Heath led the Hornets with a career-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Brandon Battle recorded another double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Kenny Strawbridge recorded a double-double as well for Alabama State with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Kam'Ron Cunningham led Mississippi Valley State with a game-high 34 points in the win.

Alabama State ended the night shooting 41.4 (24-for-58) percent from the floor and just 12.5 (2-for-16) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 65.2 (15-for-23) percent from the free throw line and outrebounded Mississippi Valley State 40-36. Meanwhile, the Delta Devils finished the night shooting 41.1 (23-for-56) percent from the floor and 38.5 (10-for-26) percent from beyond the arc.

Alabama State returns to action Saturday at home inside the Dunn-Oliver Acadome against Alabama A&M. Tip is set for 4:30 pm and can be seen on the Hornet Sports Network. Season tickets are currently on sale for the remainder of the 2021 season by contacting the Alabama State University Ticket Office. Only season ticket holders will be admitted into the venue, and Alabama State is a mask-mandatory campus.

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