Alabama State Basketball

[Golden Kitten]

I watched the game last nite - good comeback by the Bees...

ASUH, can you ask them to turn up the lights in there or something when games are going to be broadcast? It is really hard to watch the game on TV...

[ASUHORNETS]

I watched the game last nite - good comeback by the Bees...

ASUH, can you ask them to turn up the lights in there or something when games are going to be broadcast? It is really hard to watch the game on TV...

I've always said the same thing, its the one flaw the Acadome has, when they turn up the lights the crowd inside gets a glare from the floor, they put panels up under the top of dome it has helped some, its perfect inside, but always looks erie to me on t.v.....

[ASUHORNETS]

Hornets Back at Practice

 MONTOGMERY—Alabama State University men's basketball team was back on the practice court today two days after an exciting come-from-behind win over Texas Southern University. Even after a day off, the effects of that hard win may have been lingering in this morning's practice session.

“We were just okay today in practice,” head coach Lewis Jackson said. “We are trying to work on our offense some and trying to do some of the things we know Valley is going to do. They will shoot it quick get up and down the floor and spread it out. We still have to get better on that and we have a couple of days to work on it. We will continue to work on it and try to get better. We are just trying to make our offense better and to continue and try to get better defensively.”

MVSU will come into the game with the highest scoring offense in the conference, but they are ninth in the conference in points allowed.

“We have to be able to make shots against Valley,” Jackson stated. “Our goal is to establish something around the basket, because we know their bigs will hit the glass so they can get out and run, but we would like to attack them inside. So we want to get out and score but we want to score around the basket without shooting all jump shots.”

The Hornets' defense has struggled at times this season, but in the final nine minutes of the second half when ASU was cutting into Texas Southern's 18-point lead, the Hornets may have played some of their best defense of the season. They held TSU to only one of six in field goal shooting and forced 8 turnovers during the 24-6 run.

“Everyone was on the same page on defense and we knew what we were doing and what we needed to get done,” Jackson added. “We went from a zone press into a zone defense and it was effective. It took them (TSU) out of getting in the lane and it turned out to be very effective. Like I said, we were all on the same page and we rebounded their first shot and we out rebounded them by a good margin. We also had 21 offensive rebounds, which was big for us.”

The Hornets will practice on Thursday before boarding the bus Friday morning to go to Mississippi, where they will hold their Friday practice at Mississippi Valley.

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/1/MBB_0201125013.aspx?path=mbball

[ASUHORNETS]

Hornets Set to Face Mississippi Valley

 ITTA BENA, Miss.—The Alabama State University men's basketball team will begin the second half of the Southwestern Athletic Conference season just like the first, on the road. They are set to face Mississippi Valley State University (10-11/9-0 SWAC) who opens the second half of the season undefeated in conference action and has a solid two game lead over second-place Southern University.

The Hornets (8-13/5-4 SWAC) enter the game four games behind the league-leaders and are looking to build on their exciting come-from-behind win over Texas Southern.

Even after the big win over Texas Southern the head coach Lewis Jackson knows his team has an uphill battle to get back to where they want to be.

“I think the team understands Monday night was just one ball game,” Jackson said. “Although it was a great win for us it was just one ball game and we are in a totally different venue on the road and are in the first game of the second half of the season. They know the challenges we face and the things we have to do.”

The Hornets will have their work cut out for them as MVSU enters the game on a nine-game winning streak which started with their 67-60 win over ASU in Montgomery back on Jan. 7.

The Delta Devils enter the game with the league's top offense. They are averaging 69.1 points per game and also lead the SWAC in three-point field goal percentage (.336), assists per game (13.7), turnover margin (+0.57) and three-point field goals made with 155 (7.4 per game).

MVSU has three players averaging in double digits led by Terrence Joyner's 13.4 points per game. Paul Crosby is next at 13.0 and Cor-J Cox is next at 11.5 points per game.

The Hornets also have three players in double digits led by Tramaine Butler's 11.8 points per game. Both Ivory White and Philip Crawford are averaging 10.2 points per game.

In the first game of the season between the two teams, the Hornets were playing their third game in five days and MVSU was able to take advantage of that as they turned a three-point halftime deficit into a seven point win. MVSU was able to shoot 48 percent in the second half and hit three of their six three point attempts while holding the tiring Hornets to only 27.3 percent shooting.

With the Delta Devils playing with the confidence they are playing with and the offense they have, the coaching staff knows ASU will have to play some of their best defense of the season to hand the hot Delta Devils their first conference loss.

“One thing we definitely have to do better is our transition defense,” Jackson stated. “We have to get back, call out guys and get to their shooters. We also have to execute our offense. I thought we took a lot of bad shots, especially around the basket and our team defense has to get better overall. Instead of sliding to get in position we just stood and reached and allowed the offensive player to go on the path he was going on without making them pick up their dribble and passing the ball. We will have to have a good overall solid game on both sides of the court.”


 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/3/MBB_0203122227.aspx?path=mbball

[ASUHORNETS]

Turnovers, Poor Shooting Cost ASU at MVSU

 ITTA BENA, Miss.—Turnovers, poor shooting and missed opportunities cost Alabama State University (8-14/5-5 SWAC) in their 70-58 loss at league-leading Mississippi Valley State University (11-11/10-0 SWAC).

MVSU led the entire game, but ASU always stayed within shouting distance of the Delta Devils. ASU only trailed 48-45 with 10 minutes left in the game, but a missed free throw and a turnover turned into points for MVSU and they went on to outscore ASU 22-13 over the last 10 minutes.

Kevin Burwell was the main thorn on ASU's side all night long as he led MVSU with 23 points, including knocking down five of his nine three point attempts. Terrance Joyner and Paul Crosby each added 15 points, with all of Crosby's points coming in the second half.

Ryan Watts led the way off the bench for ASU with 13 points. Tramaine Butler added 12.

The Delta Devils finished the game shooting 44 percent from the field while ASU shot 40. MVSU hit seven three's and was 23-31 from the free throw line, including 17 of 19 in the second half, while the Hornets hit five threes and were only 11 of 22 at the line. MVSU was also able to turn 16 Hornet turnovers into 18 points.

“Our offense was bad and we are not executing,” head coach Lewis Jackson said. “We turn the ball over and take bad shots. We are right there in the game with 10 or 12 minutes left and we had a great opportunity and turned the ball over, and turn it over and then give up easy shots around the basket.”

“In order for us to be successful we have got to have some inside play. We can't be in and out with it, we have to be consistent and tonight it was not consistent.”

MVSU led 29-24 at halftime led by Burwell's 13 points. The Delta Devils shot 42 percent in the half and held ASU to 32 percent.

The bench really helped the Hornets in the first half as the starters only scored 10 of their first half points. Stephawn Brown,Watts and Jonathan Jefferson led the way with five points each.

Middlebrooks only played three minutes after picking up two quick fouls and Crawford only played eight minutes in the opening stanza as he also was in foul trouble. The Hornets could have been much closer, but only hit seven of their 13 free throws.

ASU will continue the road trip Monday evening when they face the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7:30 p.m.

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/4/MBB_0204124256.aspx?path=mbball

[ASUHORNETS]

Hornets Looking For Road Win at Pine Bluff

 PINE BLUFF, Ark.—Alabama State University has arrived in Pine Bluff to prepare for their road game against the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

The Hornets (8-14/5-5 SWAC) are coming off a tough 12-point loss at league-leading Mississippi Valley State on Saturday night, while UAPB (4-19/4-7 SWAC) is coming off an 81-75 win over Alabama A&M University.

ASU raced out to a 3-1 conference record, including two road wins, but since then the Hornets have struggled winning only two of their last four games. All of those games have been close, with the Hornets having a chance to win the four games they have lost. They even had the lead late in two of those losses but was unable to finish.

Head coach Lewis Jackson knows for the Hornets to win they have to put together a solid effort on both ends of the court, and the Hornets have been unable to do that.

“In order for us to be successful we have to be consistent around the basket and right now we are not getting that,” Jackson said. “We have had our chances, but we turn the ball over, we take bad shots and then we don't get back on defense and give up easy shots around the basket and you just cannot do that.”

The Hornets will not have a lot of time to get ready for the Golden Lions with a one-day turnaround and some of that time being spent on the road traveling from Itta Bena to Pine Bluff.

“There is not a lot of time to use for preparation,” Jackson said. “We will review film and get on the practice floor and get ready that way. You want to win both of the games when you go on the road, but you will take a split and we still have the opportunity to do that.”

“Everyone is trying to get position for the tournament and you want to try and win as many ball games as you can as we come down the stretch. So we have to go out and do a good job and play well enough for us to come out with a victory.”

ASU was able to defeat UAPB in a hard fought contest the last time these two teams met. ASU pulled out the 62-56 win in Montgomery back on Jan. 9. Ivory White and Philip Crawford had double-doubles in the contest with 14 and 10 for White and 10 and 10 for Crawford. Tramaine Butler had 14.

UAPB is always dangerous with the league's leading scorer Savalace Townsend. He is averaging over 17 points per game and had 23 against the Hornets in Montgomery. Daniel Broughton is coming off a 20-point, 19-rebound effort in leading UAPB past AAMU.

Tramaine Butler (11. and Ivory White (10.0) continue to average double figures for ASU and Philip Crawford (9. is close as well.

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/5/MBB_0205125115.aspx?path=mbball

[ASUHORNETS]

Hornets Come Up Short at UAPB

 PINE BLUFF, Ark.—Alabama State University (8-15/5-6 SWAC) dropped a heart-breaking 62-61 conference game to Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-19/4-7 SWAC) after battling back from a 19-point first half deficit.

Like ASU's game at Alcorn State, the Hornets missed two final shots in the last few seconds as Ryan Watts and Philip Crawford's last second shots could not find the mark and the Golden Lions escaped with the win.

The Hornets trailed by 14 at the half, but came out in the second half with more life as Crawford scored nine straight points and Watts added three three pointers as ASU cut into the lead. Jeff Middlebrooks hit a three with eight minutes left cut UAPB's lead to 48-47, but UAPB went on a run of their own to push the lead back out to eight (57-49) with 5:22 left.

ASU would not go away and again started to chip away at the lead getting it down to 62-61 after two free throws from Ivory White with 22 seconds left.

After an ASU timeout, the Hornets were able to force a jump ball with 13 seconds left and the arrow possession pointing the Hornets' way. After another timeout, Watts was able to get past his defender and laid the ball up off the glass, but it rolled off, Crawford got the offensive rebound but his shot came up short as the horn sounded.

The SWAC's leading scorer Savalace Townsend led the way for UAPB with a game-high 18 points and Lazabian Jackson added 14.

Crawford, who was in foul trouble most of the night, led the Hornets with 17 points in only 25 minutes of action. Middlebrooks added 14 points and a game-high five assists without a turnover.

“We wanted to attack with Phil and we got him going down the stretch and we got to the free throw line and he made some,” head coach Lewis Jackson said.

Ivory White picked up three-first half fouls and only wound up playing 27 minutes. He finished the game with 13 points.

The Hornets shot 57 percent from the field in the second half, but a problem that crept up again tonight was free throw shooting. The Hornets only connected on 12 of their 25 free throw attempts.

ASU's defense allowed them to get back into the game, holding UAPB to only 29 percent shooting on 9-31 shooting in the second half.

“We are trying to get guys to buy into what we are trying to do and to do what is working for us,” Jackson said. "We needed to get the ball on the inside because we had their bigs in foul trouble and once we figured out what we could do, that made it better.”

“We fought hard to get back into it and then lost. We are not doing what we need to do to win. We did not get it done, but if the guys take the effort and build on it and not go backwards, we can be a pretty good ball team.”

The Lions went into the half with a 36-22 lead led by Townsend's 12 points and Jackson's eight. UAPB shot 46 percent in the first half while holding ASU to 27 percent. UAPB could have led by more as they shot 12 free throws, but only hit six of them.

White led ASU with nine points, but only played 12 minutes due to picking up three first half fouls. The Hornets, even though they struggled, could have been much closer but only hit one of five free throws and turned the ball over nine times.

ASU will be back on the road Saturday, Feb. 11 when they play at Alabama A&M in Normal. Opening tip has been set for 5 p.m.

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/6/MBB_0206124549.aspx?path=mbball

[ASUHORNETS]

Hornets Looking for Road Win at Alabama A&M

 NORMAL—Alabama State University (8-15/5-6 SWAC) is looking for a big road win at Alabama A&M University (5-15/3-8 SWAC) Saturday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m.

The Hornets are coming off two consecutive road losses and have dropped five of their last six contests, four of those on the road.

ASU has dropped six conference games this season by an average of 6.6 points per loss. The problem for the Hornets has been their inability to take care of the ball and hit shots in the final few minutes of the game.

“We want to keep the players competing consistently through the course of the game,” head coach Lewis Jackson said. “One of our problems is we have these droughts where we are unable to score and sometimes we have some guys trying to do too much and taking bad shots.”

The one thing the Hornets have worked on throughout the week, has been working the ball into the paint area and playing the inside-out game. Junior Philip Crawford has been inconsistent at times this season, but has hit double-digits three of the last four games.

“One thing we have to do is have consistent play from the post,” Jackson said. “We have to get Philip more consistent. When he starts to play for us statistically, good things have happened for us. When we are playing well inside, it opens up easier shots from the perimeter.”

Tramaine Butler continues to lead ASU in scoring at 11.3 points per game. He is fighting through injuries that have hampered both his playing time and his consistency. He is on pace to become the 27 th

player in ASU history to score 1,000 career points and enters the AAMU game with 974 points.

Ivory White and Crawford both average 10.2 points per game and both are the leading rebounders with White pulling down 5.7 and Crawford averaging 5.5.

AAMU is led in scoring by Casey Cantey who is the only Bulldog in double digits averaging 14.5 points per game. Demarquelle Tabb averages 9.6 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. Jeremy Crutcher averages 9.1 points per game.

ASU won the first outing of the season 53-50 in Montgomery. ASU trailed 26-19 at halftime but came out in the second half and shot 48 percent from the field and held AAMU to 27 percent shooting. Butler led the way for ASU with 13 points and Jeffery Middlebrooks and Crawford had 12 points each.

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/10/MBB_0210125913.aspx?path=mbball

[ASUHORNETS]

Late Run Pushes Hornets Past AAMU

 NORMAL—Alabama State University (9-16/6-6 SWAC) outscored Alabama A&M University (5-16/3-9 SWAC) 13-2 over the final 3:45 of the game to turn a 45-44 deficit into a 57-47 win and in the process, break a two-game losing streak.

It all started with Philip Crawford's two free throws with 3:45 left that gave Alabama State University a 45-44 lead and on the next possession Ryan Watts hit a long three with the shot clock winding down to give the Hornets a four-point lead (48-44) and send ASU on their way.

Watts was a big part of the final run scoring seven of his nine points during the run and Crawford contributing four. Ivory White closed out the scoring with two free throws with 34 seconds left.

“Ryan Watts had a big game for us tonight,” head coach Lewis Jackson said. “He knocked down a couple of big free throws and really hit a big three that helped give us some momentum. Philip Crawford also played hard for us in the paint. He was able to get in on a lot of plays both on offense and defense. Brown had a strong night for us probably as good as he has been this season. He hit a lot of shots and they were good shots he took.”

Stephawn Brown led ASU with a career and game-high 15 points. The junior also grabbed six rebounds and was seven of 10 from the field.

Crawford finished with 14 points and six boards while Tramaine Butler, playing through an injury, scored nine points and had three rebounds and two assists.

Ivory White had an off night scoring with only six points, but he had a team-high seven rebounds with two blocks and two steals.

ASU struggled shooting the ball, but hit their final four shots and hit their final four free throws to pick up the bad shooting night. ASU finished the game shooting 37 percent from the field and 59 percent (10-17) from the free throw line, but hit eight of their nine attempts in the second half.

The Hornets out rebounded AAMU 36-35, but at one time the Bulldogs held a 27-18 rebounding edge. ASU also did a good job with only six turnovers while forcing AAMU into 17.

“We talked a little bit at halftime about what we needed to do in the second half,” Jackson said. “A lot of what we wanted to do was hold them to one shot and then get the rebound, and we did a good job of doing that late in the game. “We also used a lot of people in the game and had to depend on them so this was a good team victory.”

Casey Canty led AAMU with 12 points and Jeremy Crutcher added 11. DeMarquelle Tabb had seven points and led AAMU with seven rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 41 percent from the field and, like ASU, struggled from the free throw line, only hitting 12 of their 24 attempts.

tThe Bulldogs went into halftime with a 27-26 lead. AAMU shot 48 percent from the floor and was able to knock down five of their eight free throw attempts. AAMU also out-rebounded ASU 16-14 in the opening half. AAMU's scoring was spread out but Crutcher led the way with eight points.

The Hornets shot 44 percent from the field, but bad free throw shooting continued to hurt the Hornets as they only connected on two of their eight attempts. Butler and Brown led the way with seven points each, with Butler's three at the horn cutting AAMU's lead to only one.

ASU will be back home next Saturday, Feb. 18 when they host Alcorn State at 5 p.m.

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/11/MBB_0211120431.aspx

[MilesBear1]

Congratulations Hornets its always nice when you beat your rival team. Now let's keep up the good work and get ready for the Tourney in Dallas nextmonth.

[Que82]

 

[ASUHORNETS]

Hornets Back in Practice Preparing for Big Week of Games

 MONTOGMERY—After a big conference win over Alabama A&M University, the Alabama State men's basketball team was back at practice this morning preparing for a big weekend of home games. The first game comes Saturday, Feb. 18 against Alcorn State at 5 p.m. with the next home game coming two days later on Monday, Feb. 20 when they host Southern University at 7:30 p.m.

ASU currently stands in fifth place with a 6-6 record (9-15 overall), just one game out of fifth and two games from second place. The Hornets will have the opportunity to play four of the final six games of the season at home, so ASU is looking make a move to improve their conference standings with the conference tournament only three weeks away.

“We look at the conference standings right now and Mississippi Valley is sort of running out in front of everybody and the rest of us are beating up on each other, but as we look at it with six games to go we are two games out of second place so we are excited about what can happen,” head coach Lewis Jackson said. “If we continue to play with the energy and effort and desire that we need to play with too we can win ball games and if we don't do those things we can certainly drop down the ladder.”

“We are going to focus on the fact that we can go out and achieve what we want to achieve in these last six games and that is to play hard and play strong and develop some momentum and get ready to go into the tournament."
 

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/15/MBB_0215125647.aspx?path=mbball

[MilesBear1]

Let's Get it Hornets.

[ASUHORNETS]

Alabama State's Butler close to reaching milestone

 This time of year, a lot of players battle aches and pains after a game. Stretched muscles, deep bruises and twisted ankles and knees can make simple tasks difficult for a college basketball player in the hours after a game.

In Tramaine Butler's case, he feels that way before he takes the court.

"Before the game, it's painful," he said. "It's hard to deal with. I just try to suck it up, but it's tough to do at times because the pain is throbbing."

Butler had a metal rod inserted into his leg prior to his junior season to deal with the pain, but it doesn't help. And each week seems to bring a new injury to the Alabama State senior.

"The rod went from my (right) knee to my ankle," Butler said. "I'm playing on a fracture. That's why I'm limping when I'm playing. My (left) shoulder keeps popping out of place and I think I broke my pinkie finger (on my left hand)."

Despite the setbacks, Butler is on the verge of becoming only the 27th Hornet in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark, a notable accomplishment in an era where academics may delay or the NBA may hasten the departure of a college basketball player.

Alabama State coach Lewis Jackson, who is fourth on the school's all-time career scoring list, preaches defense first, a strong reason why former SWAC player of the year Andrew Hayles is the only member of the 1,000-point club during Jackson's seven-year tenure as head coach.

"He's a true warrior," Jackson said. "Tramaine is a fifth-year senior with talented athletic ability. He's worked to put himself in position to do a lot of things here, but he suffered that major injury, and a lot of things left him in terms of his explosiveness and the way he attacked the basket. But he continues to work and give what he can to the team. I couldn't ask anything more of him."

More.....

 http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120217/SPORTS0403/202170331/College-basketball-Alabama-State-s-Butler-close-reaching-milestone

[ASUHORNETS]

Men's Basketball Ready For Final Push

 MONTOGMERY—Alabama State University will begin their stretch of the final six games of the regular season by hosting Alcorn State University Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Hornets enter the contest 9-15 overall and in fifth place in the conference with a 6-6 record. Alcorn State enters the game 7-17 overall and 5-7 in conference action.

Mississippi Valley State has put some distance between them and the rest of the conference, but the Hornets find themselves only two games out of second place, but also find themselves only three games from ninth place, so they will be fighting for position in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament that begins Mar. 7.

“We look at the conference standings right now and Valley is running out in front of everyone and everyone else is kind of beating up on each other,” head coach Lewis Jackson said. “But as we look at it with six games to go we are only two games out of second place so we are excited about what can happen if we continue to play with the energy, effort and desire we need to play with to win games. On the other hand if we don't do those things we can drop down the ladder considerably.”

“We are going to focus on the fact that we can go out and achieve the things we want to achieve in these last six ball games and that is to play well and play strong and develop some momentum as we head into the tournament.”

ASU has lost six conference games by an average of only six points, so the Hornets have continued to work hard and give great effort at practice in trying to turn around a stretch where they have dropped five of their last seven games.

“Anytime you throw it up the guys have been going after each other and they want you to know they can still get the job done,” Jackson stated. “They are really working hard and when we scrimmage they compete hard against each other and that is a good sign. They are still hungry and they know the ultimate goal is still out there and that is making the NCAA Tournament.”

ASU will enter the game against Alcorn with three players averaging in double figures, led by Tramaine Butler's 11.1 points per game. Butler is also trying to become the 27 th player in ASU history to reach the 1,000 career point's milestone. He has 983 points needing only 17.

Philip Crawford averages 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and Ivory White is averaging 10 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.

Alcorn State also has three players averaging in double digits. Anthony Nieves leads the team at 10.6 points per game and Kendrick McDonald averages 10.2 and Twann Oakley averages 10.1.

The two teams met earlier in the season on Jan. 21 with the Braves scratching out a 61-60 victory. The Hornets had three chances to score in the final seconds but each of their shots missed the mark.

ASU will conclude the current two-game home stand when they host Southern University Monday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

 http://bamastatesports.com/news/2012/2/17/MBB_0217120802.aspx