OXFORD, Miss. | CJ Hines and TJ Madlock paced three players in double figures for Alabama State on Monday night at the Pavilion, but it wasn't enough as Ole Miss pulled away late for a 69-59 victory in the season-opener for both teams.

Madlock finished the night with 12 points and eight rebounds while dishing out three assists and knocking down 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Hines finished 12 points knocking down eight free throws, while Amarr Knox finished with 11 off the bench. Jasteven Walker finished with nine on three three-pointers off the bench, while Micah Octave finished with seven rebounds.

Allen Flanigan recorded a double-double for Ole Miss with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Matthew Murrell finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Jaylen Murray and TJ Caldwell each ended the night with 15 points for Ole Miss who finished the night shooting 36.8 (25-of-68) percent from the floor and 24.1 (7-of-29) percent from beyond the arc. 

Alabama State finished the night shooting 27.4 (17-of-62) percent from the floor and 36.0 (9-of-25) percent from beyond the arc, while also connecting on 76.2 (16-of-21) percent from the free throw line.

How It Happened

• Alabama State tied the game for the first time in the first half on a Walker three-pointer with 7:16 remaining, tying the game at 19-all before Ole Miss came right back down the floor to take the lead.
• With 5:17 to play in the first half, the Hornets took their first lead of the night on a Knox three-pointer to go up 25-23. Ole Miss answered with a 6-0 run to take the lead back and led going into halftime, 35-30.
• In the second half, Alabama State battled back from six down early in the half to pull to within one at 45-44 with 11:59 to play following an Octave three-pointer. However, Ole Miss went on a 6-0 run out of the timeout to push the lead to 51-44 before pulling away late in the game.

Alabama State Notes

• The Hornets played without three players in the season-opener including returning starter Isaiah Range who led the team in scoring last season before his season-ending injury.
• Octave recorded a career-high seven rebounds in the game, while Walker recorded a career-high in points scored and three-pointers made in a game.
• The Hornets turned the ball over just 11 times in the loss to Ole Miss, while forcing eight and scoring nine points off the turnovers.
• Alabama State scored 22 points off the bench between three players - Knox, Walker, and Sean Smith.

Quotable from head coach Tony Madlock...
Opening thoughts..
"Overall I thought it was a decent showing. It was one of those games that if you could just hit a couple shots, we shot 27 percent from the field. You have to make plays. We talked about it, especially on the road, you got to lay-ups and free throws. We did a good job at the free throw line, shooting 76 percent, but we missed so many open looks. I mean so many open looks. Shots we work on every single day. So we have to make sure we stay in the gym to make those shots. But defensively I thought we were solid. We talk about it every game that if you can hold a team under 40 percent you have a chance. We did that, and we didn't turn the ball over but over 11 times. Those are some the things that stood out, I am proud of the guys, they fought. They (Ole Miss) got into a situation where they hit a couple of shots in a row that threw us off a little bit, but I am proud of the guys."

You were able to take their crowd out of the game for a bit...
"We needed a stop, and we came out and got a couple of stops early and made a couple of plays. Basketball is a game of runs, and they were able to come down and make a couple of shots in a row, and we couldn't answer those."

Up Next
Alabama State heads to Iowa City to face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday, Nov. 10, with a tip of 7 p.m. on Peacock. The game will also be carried on the Hornet Sports Network.

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