MONTGOMERY, Ala. | For the first time since 2019, Alabama State will make the trek to Birmingham for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament after an 87-84 double-overtime victory over regular season champion Grambling State on Saturday night inside the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
Alabama State (13-17, 8-10 SWAC) built a 14-point lead in the second half before Grambling State came back to tie it and send it to overtime. In the first overtime period, the Tigers had the lead before a lay-up by Micah Octave with 0.4 seconds remaining forced the second overtime, and in the second overtime period the Hornets were able to knock down free throws and hold off a furious Grambling State rally for the last shot.
 
TJ Madlock finished with 23 points to lead Alabama State including knocking down 13-of-14 from the free throw line, while Isaiah Range added 21 with five three-pointers. Darrell Reed came off the bench to add 11 points for Alabama State who finished the night shooting 40.0 (30-of-75) percent from the floor and 33.3 (11-of-33) percent from the free throw line. They also connected on 76.2 (16-of-21) percent of their free throws.
 
Jourdan Smith led five players in double figures for Grambling with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Tigers shot 44.3 (27-of-61) percent from the floor and 31.3 (7-of-22) percent from beyond the arc. They also knocked down 82.1 (23-of-28) percent from the free throw line.
 
How It Happened

• Alabama State built a double-digit lead in the first half and led by as many as 14 with 16:15 left to play. The game had eight lead changes and eight times it was tied.
• Alabama State led the game all by 5:08.
• Grambling State tied the game in regulation before Alabama State needed a basket in the first overtime to tie the game. In the second overtime period, Madlock knocked down four consecutive free throws including two with 14 seconds remaining after getting an offensive rebound.
• The Hornets shot 45.5 (15-of-33) percent from the floor in the first half and 37.5 (6-of-16) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 39.3 (11-of-28) percent from the floor and 50 (5-of-10) percent from beyond the arc in the second half.

Alabama State Notes

• Micah Octave recorded a steal for the 29th time in 31 games with a first-half steal.
• Range knocked down five three-pointers in the contest, giving him 14 in the last three games (Alabama A&M, Southern, and Grambling State).
• Ubong Okon grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, the 13th time he has recorded eight or more rebounds this season.
• Madlock scored in double figures for the 27th time, while Range did for the 14th time.
• Reed's 11 points off the bench is a career-high, topping his previous mark of eight against Georgia Tech last year.
• Alabama State last played in the conference tournament in 2019, defeating Jackson State in the opening round on the road before falling to Texas Southern in Birmingham.

Quotable from head coach Tony Madlock
Opening statement…
"It's been crazy. It's like I told the team after the game, we started out league play really good. I don't know what happened, we just weren't making the right plays. The guys have been fighting all year, and we have talked about that we aren't making enough shots. We are always in the 30s, but tonight we were over 40 in the first half. That is a great sign for us. We knew we had to win, and we would talk about scenarios after the game."
 
A lot of guys stepped including the seniors…
"Isaiah has been thrown so much, to break his last year against Grambling and to play tonight in front of his family and make plays to help us win. And Eric (Coleman) who broke his foot and probably wasn't supposed to come back this early. He told his brothers he was coming back and might not be 100 percent but he wanted to do whatever he had to do to help this team. That says a lot about those guys, they are all about the team and all about winning. Micah gets the ball after running it right, and TJ gets the offensive rebound and scores it. Winning plays, that's all we have talked about all year."
 
Up Next
Alabama State will enter the conference tournament as the eighth seed and will face top-seeded Grambling State in Birmingham at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13.
 
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