Hornets stop skid in 83-77 win over Prairie View
Jamel Waters tied his season season-high with 24 points and Terrance LeFlore had a career-high 18 points to lead Alabama State to an 83-77 win over Prairie View A&M and in the process stopping their five-game losing streak.
“Their (Waters and LeFlore) performance was really big and I thought Jamel got off to a great start in the first half,” Head Coach Lewis Jackson said. “He came out on fire, he was pushing the ball and finding the open man within our transition offense and he shot it really well in the first half.”
“LeFlore came in and did a phenomenal job on both defensively and in our offense. He took good shots and hit some free throws down the stretch,”
Waters hit his first three shots of the game scoring eight points in the opening two minutes of the game. He then six more points in the final two minutes of the half, only missing one shot in the process. He finished shooting seven of 10 from the field.
Joining Waters and LeFlore in double digits was Covon Butler who scored 12 points and had a game-high seven rebounds and Bobby Brown added 10 points and six boards.
ASU )7-14/2-7) finished the game shooting 57 percent from the field and hit eight of their 14 three point field goals for another 57 percent. ASU hit 19 of 27 free throws for 70 percent.
Jayrn Johnson had a game-high 25 points on eight-of-13 shooting. Karim York came off the bench to score 20 points. Zachary Hamilton and Tevin Bellinger had 10 points each to match the Hornets with four players reaching double digits.
The visitors shot 55 percent from the field and hit 56 percent of their three point field goals. The Panthers took 23 free throws, hitting 16 for 61 percent.
ASU out rebounded PVAMU (1-20/1-8) 30-23 as Butler and Brown led the way. Torloft Thomas had six assists and Waters added four.
“Tony (Armstrong) and Corvon really battled under the basket and played hard,” Jackson said. “All the guys that played, played hard and it was a good team effort and it was a victory we really needed before we start the second nine.”
The Hornets went into the locker room at halftime with a 44-32 lead. Waters had 16 first half points on five-of-six shooting, including hitting all three of his three-point attempts.
The Hornets had one of their best shooting halves of the year, shooting 74 percent (17-23), including six-of-seven from beyond the three point line.
Johnson had a big half for the Panthers scoring 12 points on four-of-seven shooting as PVAMU shot 48 percent (12-25) from the field.
The Hornets are back on the road this weekend opening with a game at Mississippi Valley State Saturday, Feb. 6 at 5 p.m.
