USAFA, Colo. – SIUE men's basketball shot 71 percent in the second half and erased a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat Alabama State 83-68 to wrap up play at the Air Force Classic Sunday.
SIUE improved to 4-3 overall with the win. Alabama State dropped to 3-4.
Jack Campion paced three Cougars in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He added five assists. Jordan Pickett scored 14 points and added a game-high eight rebounds. Myles Thompson added 14 points for the Cougars.
The Cougars finished the game shooting 46 percent. After connecting on just 8-33 shots in the first half, the Cougars knocked down 20-28 attempts after halftime including 5-8 three-pointers. SIUE hit just 2-12 shots from long range in the first half. At the free throw line, SIUE buried 10-12 in the second half and 20-30 for the game.
After Alabama State got out to a 5-0 lead to start the game, before the Cougars settled in. A three-pointer by Jack Campion and a layup by Jo Valrie had SIUE up 22-21 at the final media timeout of the half. The Hornets then finished the half on a 16-6 run and led 37-28 at the break following a pair of free throws by Asjon Anderson.
That followed a mostly back-and-forth first half which featured 12 lead changes.
The Cougars opened the second half strong and took the lead 44-42 with a Darrion Baker runner with 15:24 to play.
A layup by Jerquarius Stanback had Alabama State up 49-48 with 13:16 to play when SIUE took over. Three-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Ring Malith and Jordan Pickett put SIUE up 54-49 12:25 to play and the Cougars never trailed again in the game. A Pickett three-pointer with 6:35 left, gave SIUE its first double-digit lead at 68-58.
The Cougars outrebounded the Hornets 41-39 in the game. SIUE outscored Alabama State 40-18 in the paint.
The Hornets were led by Micah Simpon's 20 points. Anderson had 18 points. Alabama State shot 33 percent (19-58) from the field for the game.
The Cougars return home to face Missouri Baptist Friday. Tipoff against the Spartans is set for 3 p.m.
