GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team could not recover from an 18-point first-half deficit in falling to Alabama State, 80-72, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday afternoon at Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. 

HOW IT HAPPENED  
- Grambling State (9-13 overall, 7-3 SWAC) got off to a very sluggish start trailing Alabama State 18-10 at the 11:43 mark.  
- Alabama State (6-16, 5-5) took its largest lead of the half with 4:24 left to play in the half, ahead of the Tigers 39-21  
- The Tigers went on a 10-0 run to close the gap to single digits as the Hornets kept the lead going into the half, 39-31  
- Alabama State started to pull away as a Kenny Strawbridge layup gave the Hornets a 57-41 advantage with 13:27 left 
- ASU extended the margin to 66-41 after using a 14-0 run over the next five minutes 
- Grambling State cut the deficit to 11 with just over three minutes left, but could not recover from the huge margin 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS  
- Grambling State shot 36.6 percent (26-of-71) from the floor and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the free-throw line    
- Shawdarius Cowart scored 19 points, with seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals  
-Cameron Christon tallied 14 points eight rebounds, one assist and one steal  
- Tra'Michael Moton registered 13 points, seven boards, two assists and three steals  
- Grambling State finished with 32 points in the paint, 24 bench points, 14 points off 18 Alabama State turnovers, eight second-chance points and four fastbreak points  
-Alabama State shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field and 73.1 percent (19-of-26) from the charity stripe    
- Juan Reyna led the way offensively with 25 points, four rebounds and two assists          
- E.J. Clark recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists 
- Kenny Strawbridge tallied 11 points, three rebounds and one assist 
- Alabama State finished with 38 bench points, 31 points in the paint, 23 points off 16 Grambling State turnovers, eight second-chance points and nine fastbreak points   

UP NEXT  
Grambling State returns to the Willis Reed court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on Monday to host Alabama A&M. Tip-off is set for 8:05 p.m. on ESPNU.   

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