PINE BLUFF – Savalace Townsend scored 18 points Monday night to guide Arkansas-Pine Bluff to its third straight victory, 62-61 over Alabama State.
Lazabian Jackson added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Lions (5-19, 4-7 Southwestern Athletic Conference).
Phillip Crawford’s 17 points paced the Hornets (8-15, 5-6), who dropped their second straight. Jeff Middlebrooks added 14 points and Ivory White 13, while Jonathan Jefferson grabbed 10 rebounds.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff bolted to a 19-point, first-half lead and was still up 43-26 with 17:51 left before Alabama State clawed back.
The Hornets got two 3-pointers from Ryan Watts during a 12-0 run that cut it to 43-28 with 12:44 left.
Jackson’s dunk with 1:57 to go put the Golden Lions up 61-56, and Clay Johnson’s free throw made it 62-59 1:07 later. White brought the Hornets within 62-61 with two free throws with 22 seconds left, but Pine Bluff held on.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.