MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State returns home for a pair of Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) contests beginning Saturday afternoon at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
Alabama State (11-13, 6-5 SWAC) finds itself in the thick of the conference standings with 10 teams within four games of the conference lead with seven games remaining on the schedule. The Hornets hit the floor on Saturday against one of those schools, UAPB (10-14, 5-6 SWAC), for the second time this season. Alabama State defeated UAPB 83-72 back on Jan. 8, a weekend the Hornets won both of their games on the road to open conference play.
 
The Hornets enter the weekend looking to end a modest two-game losing streak, losses to the top two teams in the conference – Southern and Grambling State – last weekend. TJ Madlock leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game, one of the top-10 scorers in the league. CJ Hines is averaging 10.7 per game, while Isaiah Range is at 9.3 per game. Ubong Okon leads the team in rebounding (6.4) and blocked shots, both top-10 in the league through 24 games.
 
Alabama State will look to counter UAPB who enters the contest with three of the top scorers in SWAC play including Kylen Milton at 18.1 per game at third. He is joined in the top-10 by Rashad Williams at 17.2 and Joe French at 14.5 per game.
 
The Hornets close out the homestand against Mississippi Valley State on Monday night. The Delta Devils are led by Rayquan Brown at 17.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
Game Info: Alabama State vs. UAPB
Saturday, Feb. 17 | 4 p.m. | Dunn-Oliver Acadome
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ASU Game Notes (.pdf)

Game Info: Alabama State vs. Mississippi Valley State
Monday, Feb. 19 | 7:30 p.m. | Dunn-Oliver Acadome
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ALST Game Notes (.pdf)
 
Alabama State Notes

• The Hornets enter the weekend tied for fifth in the overall conference standings with Jackson State and Alcorn State. They sit one game behind Texas Southern and Bethune-Cookman for third, two games behind Grambling State, and three behind the conference leader Southern.
• Alabama State has four home games remaining on the scheduling including the two this weekend, with three road games (Florida swing and Alabama A&M) in between.
• Micah Octave opened the season with a steal in 18 consecutive games before his streak was snapped in Texas and has recorded one in 22 of the 24 games thus far this season.
• Nine players have scored in double figures this season for Alabama State led by Madlock 20 times. Hines (15) and Range (11) are the only other players in double digits while Amarr Knox has scored in double figures seven times off the bench.
• Okon has grabbed double-digit rebounds four times this season, while Octave has done so twice including a career-high 14.
• The Hornets are currently 11th in the nation in fastbreak points (15.58), 18th in offensive rebounds (13.58), 28th in steals per game (8.8), 38th in rebounds per game (39.42), 40th in turnovers forced per game (14.62), 41st in turnover margin (2.8), 48th in bench points per game (25.71), and 54th in field goal percentage defense (41.3).  
• Three players have drawn 40 or more fouls this season for the Hornets led by Madlock at 108 fouls drawn. He is joined by Hines (45) and Okon (42).

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