Reese guides Southern to 63-61 win over Alabama State

Jan 21, 2018, 02:28 am

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Eddie Reese hit three 3-pointers and scored 14, Sidney Umude added 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots and Southern made just enough free throws down the stretch to fend off Alabama State 63-61 on Saturday.

The Jaguars (7-13, 3-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference) won despite shooting 36 percent from the floor, including 23.5 percent from 3-point range, and 50 percent (13 of 26) at the foul line. Southern posted back-to-back wins for only the second time this season.

Reginald Gee made four 3-pointers and scored 20 with nine rebounds to lead the Hornets (3-15, 3-3). Rodney Simeon added 11 points as Alabama State also struggled on offense. The Hornets made 20 of 58 shots (34.5 percent), including 31 percent (8 of 26) from distance, but stayed in the game by making 13 of 16 free throws.

Southern led 30-22 at intermission and upped its advantage to 42-30 on a Reese layup midway through the second half. The Hornets used runs of 8-0 and 6-0 over the next five minutes to pull within 47-44. But Reese buried two 3s and added three free throws, scoring nine of Southern's final 13 points to wrap up the win.