CJ Hines scored 20 points and TJ Madlock pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Alabama State Hornets to a 60-56 win over Jackson State and the 2025 SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship.
The Hornets set the tone early with a stifling and physical defense. “We knew we had to play extremely hard, they are a very talented team,” said Alabama State head coach Tony Madlock.
It was clear before the game started that a key to defeating the Tigers started on the inside with the big fella Shannon Grant. The strategy according to Coach Madlock was to attack the paint and make Grant work. “We had to make sure we put him in coverage,” said Madlock. “We had to make him move.”
To his credit, the 6’11, 300 lb graduate student still managed to score 20 points and grab 9 rebounds. He was the only Jackson State player to score in double figures. Post-mate Romelle Mansel had his hands full with Madlock and D’Ante Bass. The Hornets duo held the explosive leaper to 4 points while forcing him to turnover the ball five times.
Grant’s one-handed jumper in the lane gave the Tigers a nine-point lead in the second half, their largest of the game. They managed to keep the lead despite having lost sharp shooter Jayme Mitchell, Jr. and his nine points to an ankle/foot injury in the latter minutes of the first half. Next man up.
Hines gave the Hornets their first lead of the second half with a three-point dagger seconds after the Tigers lost starting guard Keivion Hunt, who was a big part of the Tigers’ success during the week. Hunt sustained a non-contact injury to the knee running out to defend a deep ball Amarr Knox had raised up to shoot from the corner near the Hornets bench.
The next six minutes were frenzied as the teams traded the lead several times. A layup in the lane by Micah Octave gave the Hornets a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.