TAMPA, Fla. | After trailing by as many as nine in the first half and six late in the game Alabama State had two chances to tie the game at the buzzer but came up short, falling to South Florida 73-70 at the Yuengling Center on Friday night.
 
Alabama State (4-8) and South Florida (7-4) traded the lead 11 times before a free throw from Chris Youngblood tied the game at 68-all with 1:23 to play in the game. The Bulls converted on four consecutive free throws to take a 71-68 lead with 28 seconds to play before Ubong Okon tipped in a miss over two defenders to pull Alabama State to within a point at 71-70 with 10.6 seconds to play.
 
After a pair of free throws by Youngblood with 10 seconds to play, Alabama State had a good look from CJ Hines from the corner before Eric Coleman pulled down the rebound. He kicked the ball out to Sean Smith whose three-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
 
Hines led five players in double figures for Alabama State with 14, while TJ Madlock added 12. Kendal Parker and Smith added 11, while Micah Octave added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Youngblood led all scorers with 26 to pace South Florida.
 
How It Happened

• Alabama State jumped out to a nine-point lead with 13:43 to play in the first half before South Florida stormed back to take a nine-point lead of its own with 2:17 to play in the first half.
• The game featured 11 lead changes and the game was tied nine times.
• Alabama State finished the night shooting 38.2 (26-of-68) percent from the floor and 41.7 (10-of-24) percent from beyond the arc for the game. They also shot 66.7 (8-of-12) percent from the free throw line. The Hornets shot 45.2 (14-of-31) percent from the floor in the second half.
• Meanwhile, South Florida shot 43.8 (21-of-48) percent from the floor and 48.3 (14-of-29) percent from beyond the arc – including 10 combined from Youngblood and Selton Miguel. The Bulls shot 81.0 (17-of-21) percent from the free throw line.

Alabama State Notes

• Octave recorded his first double-double of the season and his career, and the second for the Hornets joining D'Ante Bass.
• The junior forward recorded a steal for the 12th consecutive game and matched his career with three in his second consecutive contest.
• The five players in double figures are the most in a single game this season.
• Alabama State committed just seven turnovers, a season-low for the Hornets topping the mark of nine against MUW on Dec. 3.
• Alabama State topped South Florida in every miscellaneous category including 25-21 in bench points led by Parker and Smith combining for 22 points.
• Okon grabbed nine rebounds (including six offensive) to give him 39 total rebounds in the last four games.

Up Next
Alabama State returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome with tip set for 6 p.m. against Johnson (Fla.).
 
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