A 16-2 run in the second half by Alabama State was the difference as PVAMU's late rally fell short in a 73-68 defeat Saturday evening in the Baby Dome.
Alabama State used the three-point line to its advantage early in the first half as they nailed three treys within the first five minutes to storm out to a 13-6 advantage. Tevin Bellinger came off the bench along with Admassu Williams to spark a 7-0 run and tie the game at 13-all with 12:21 left.
ASU's Steve Rogers answered with the team's fourth trey to regain a 16-13 lead but a dunk by reigning SWAC Player of the Week Jayrn Johnson kept the team within one at 16-15. Nearly a minute later, the Panthers were on the verge of closing out a solid defensive possession but ASU's Torloft Thomas was fouled on a desperation three-pointer attempt and hit all three shots to keep ASU on top. The Panthers would answer with a Jordan Giddings' driving layup but ASU and the three-pointer remained close friends as Nick Barnes got in on the act to up the lead to 22-17 with 9:55 left.
Zachary Hamilton hit a basket to narrow the gap to 22-19 but four untimely missed free throws prevented the Panthers from drawing closer as Alabama State would score on four consecutive possessions from that point to move ahead 30-23 at the 5:33 mark.
After a subpar free throw shooting performance to begin the game, the Panthers would regroup from the charity stripe and close to within 30-27 after a pair of free throws from Giddings and Karim York. ASU would continue to hold off the Panthers with its best tug-of-war impression as Tony Armstrong's two free throws pushed its lead back to five (32-27) but two free throws by Bellinger with 3:52 left kept the Panthers within three points at 32-29.
A steal by Ja'Donta Blakely led to 1-of-2 free throws from Bellinger to pull within 32-30 but the Panthers struggled to get over the hump as ASU added a free throw to counter two consecutive turnovers by PVAMU in a span of 23 seconds during the two-minute mark. Solid defense kept the Panthers on ASU's heels and it paid off as a block by Hamilton with 54 seconds left led to a fast break layup from Johnson and a 33-32 deficit.
ASU once again answered to hold its lead but Avery Lomax picked the perfect time to score as he was fouled on his shooting attempt by Rogers of ASU. Lomax made the free throw to cap off the three-point play with three seconds left and tie the contest at 35-all heading into the half.
The pace picked up to open the second half as the Panthers claimed their first lead (40-38) of the night on Admassu Williams' dunk. The teams would trade baskets with PVAMU still leading 42-41 but the entire flow of the game changed over the next nine minutes.
Alabama State began to buzz literally as they outscored the Panthers 16-2 during that span while PVAMU went cold by shooting 1-of-9 from the field. Trailing 62-44 with 9:10 remaining, one would think the Panthers would roll over and shut things down but they did the opposite as they went on an 8-0 run to pull within 62-52 at the 7:11 mark.
The Hornets pushed their lead back to 15 after Jamel Waters' trey at the 5:58 mark but six quick points by Giddings coupled with baskets from Williams and a huge trey from Bellinger closed the gap to 67-63 as the clock read 2:22. Alabama State responded with a 6-0 surge to move ahead 73-63 and did just enough to hold off the Panthers from that point to claim the win and solidify their hold on fifth place in this pivotal SWAC contest.
The Panthers had a balanced attack with four players in double figures led by Bellinger's 16. Johnson added 15 while Giddings and Williams chipped in with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
The team closes out its home schedule Monday night as they'll face Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m. inside the Baby Dome.
