MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Ubong Okon posted his first career double-double and four players scored in double figures but it wasn't enough as UAPB pulled out an 80-74 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory over Alabama State at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Saturday night.
 
Okon finished the night with a career-high 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, connecting on 7-of-9 from the free throw line. TJ Madlock and Micah Octave each added 11 points in the loss for Alabama State (11-14, 6-6 SWAC), while CJ Hines added 10.
 
Meanwhile, Rashad Williams led all scorers with 33 for UAPB (11-14, 6-6 SWAC), while Kylen Milton added 11 and Joe French 10.
 
Alabama State finds itself in a three-way tie for seventh in the conference standings with Alabama A&M and UAPB with six regular season conference games remaining.
 
How It Happened

• The two teams traded baskets throughout the first half with Alabama State shooting 37.5 (15-of-40) percent from the floor and just 23.8 (5-of-21) percent from beyond the arc. They also connected on all four of their free throws.
• UAPB shot 48.3 (14-of-29) percent from the floor with eight of those makes coming from behind the arc. The Golden Lions finished the first half shooting 44.4 (8-of-18) percent from beyond the arc and 62.5 (5-of-8) percent from the free throw line.
• Alabama State ended the night shooting 34.2 (24-of-76) percent from the floor and just 16.7 (7-of-42) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the night shooting 78.9 (15-of-19) percent from the free throw line.
• Meanwhile, UAPB finished the night shooting 44.6 (25-of-56) percent from the floor and 41.9 (13-of-31) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 65.4 (17-of-26) percent from the free throw line.

Alabama State Notes

• For the 11th time this season, Okon recorded eight or more rebounds and recorded double-digit rebounds for the fifth time.
• Octave recorded a steal for the 23rd time in 25 games with two first-half steals.
• Madlock scored in double figures for the 21st time this season, the most by any Hornet.
• Alabama State committed just eight turnovers on the night and took a season-high 42 three-pointers against the Golden Lions. 

Quotable from head coach Tony Madlock
Opening statement…
"Disappointing loss at home, we just haven't played well at home and I take full responsibility for this. We were a step slow to everything, we let a guy get hot on us. The thing about is he is a good player, he hasn't played in three or four games, so he is coming off an injury. We did a really good job on him the first time and because they have so many good shooters around him, it is hard to double him. He (Williams) played an outstanding game so give him a lot of credit. But again, I take full responsibility for this loss. Our guys weren't ready to come home, the story of our lives, and shoot 34 percent with a lot of good looks."
 
Have to forget about this one and get ready for Monday…
"They are all important for us because we aren't playing well. We have lost our swag, we have lost our confidence, and we are trying everything we can to be positive. We just have to know there is a lot on the line for Monday. They will be ready; we will walk through and have a film session tomorrow and be ready for Monday."
 
Up Next
Alabama State returns to action on Monday against Mississippi Valley State at 7:30 p.m. inside the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
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