Contributed
(Feb. 23, 2010)

Tramaine Butler and Tramayne Moorer both posted double-doubles in helping the Alabama State University men’s basketball team to a 73-64 victory over Southern University Monday night at Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

Moorer finished with a game-high 21 points including 13 in the second half and pulled down 10 rebounds while Butler poured in 17 points to go along with his 10 boards.

The Hornets (12-13, 9-5 SWAC) remained tied for third in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings after posting their third consecutive win overall and ninth straight victory over Southern (4-23, 2-13 SWAC).

Menji Mundadi finished with 15 points for ASU including four three-pointers and Chris Duncan added 10 in the win.

Quinton Doggett led six Jaguars in double-digits finishing with 16 points on the night.

“Any win is a good win for us right now,” said ASU head coach Lewis Jackson, who improved to 9-1 all-time against Southern. “We played with good energy at the start of the game, but I thought we lost some of our focus in the second half. We have got have better execution on both ends of the floor. We also have to play smarter down the stretch of games. We need to continue coming together as a team as we head into the final games of the regular season.”

Mundadi displayed his sharp-shooting skills early in the first half hitting his first four three-point attempts while sparking the Hornets to a 15-4 run to open the game. In addition to solid shooting, the ASU run was aided by five Southern turnovers.

After ASU’s furious start, the Jaguars settled things down and actually outscored the Hornets, 26-21, until the final minute of the half. Despite the back-and-forth tempo of play, Southern was not able to get closer than eight points during the half.

Alabama State closed with a flash scoring the final eight points of the frame to take a 44-27 lead into the break. In the closing surge, Moorer scored a basket followed by a three-pointer by Duncan. Mundadi added a free throw and Moorer capped the run with a pair of free throws.

The difference in the first half was ASU’s ability to capitalize on Southern turnovers. The Hornets forced 12 first half miscues by the Jags and converted those mistakes into 16 points. In addition, Bama State connected on 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from beyond the three-point arc in the period.

A more aggressive Jaguars squad raced out of the break scoring the first nine points of the period and cutting their deficit in half after just three minutes of play. A dunk by Moorer halted the Southern run at nine and ignited a 10-2 surge by the Hornets that pushed their lead back to double digits.

Southern continued to battle and used a seven-point rally to trim the deficit to single digits, 57-48, with 10:49 to play. Alabama State responded with five straight points to again turn back the Jags comeback attempt.

The Jaguars refused to go away as the ASU margin hovered around the 10-point mark for much of the remainder of the game. Southern made a final charge during the closing minutes pulling to within five, 67-62, on a layup by Doggett with 1:19 left to play but the Hornets made enough free throws to secure the victory.

The Hornets next hit the road for the final time of the regular season this weekend with their annual trip to Houston. ASU faces Texas Southern on Saturday before visiting Prairie View A&M next Monday night.

Golf team seventh in Huntingdon tourney

The Alabama State University men’s golf team carded an opening round 314 at the Wynlakes Wynter Nationals hosted by Huntingdon College Monday at Wynlakes Golf and Country Club.

The Hornets ended the first day of the 36-hole event in seventh place. Senior Kyle Demeester, who is tied for ninth, fired a three-over-par 75 to lead ASU on the par 72, 6,910-yard layout.

Sophomore John Montgomery posted a first round 78 to rank among the Top 20 in a tied for 19th. Other golfers participating in the event for Bama State included Michael Stringfellow with an 80 (T-30), Sam Strachan 91 (T-34) and Brendan Prouse 96 (T-67). ASU’s Gregory Keafer shot an 86 (T-51) competing as an individual at the tournament.

Huntingdon leads the team competition following a first day score of 290. Meridian CC is second at 303 followed by Faulkner (305), Montevallo (306), Birmingham-Southern (310), LaGrange College (312), ASU, Abraham Baldwin CC (327), Andrew CC (329), Faulkner “B” (337), Sewanee (350), Millsaps (354) and Martin Methodist (354). Huntingdon’s Mack Duke leads the individual medalist play after firing a two-under 70 Monday.

Tournament action concludes with a final round of 18 holes Tuesday at Wynlakes CC.