MONTGOMERY, Alabama -Â With his team near the bottom of the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings, Alabama A&M coach Willie Hayes is looking for something to light a fire under the Bulldogs.
He hopes Alabama State will do that today.
The Bulldogs (3-10, 1-3) visit the Hornets (6-10, 3-1) today in an important game for both teams. Tipoff is 5 p.m.
"We had a good week of practice and they seem excited about playing Alabama State," Hayes said. "If our guys can't get up for this game, there is no game they can get up for.
"We haven't won down there in a while, but this in an opportunity for us to go in there and get a big win and jumpstart our season."
A&M has lost nine of its last 10 games and is 0-9 away from Elmore Gym, but Hayes says he has not pushed the panic button.
"I told our guys we need to go on a winning streak," he said. "If we can get a win, then we've got time to prepare for two road games where we've been successful."
After today's game, A&M visits Southern next Saturday and Alcorn State the following Monday.
While A&M is struggling, Alabama State has come on strong recently.
The Hornets opened the season 2-9, but they are 4-1 in their last five games.
"They're a disciplined, scrappy team," Hayes said. "They've got four seniors in the starting lineup and three of them are fifth-year seniors. That gives them a lot of experience on the floor."
Alabama State, Hayes said, likes to utilize a small lineup. A&M can match that, he says, but the Bulldogs will try to take advantage of their size with with 6-10 center Jerome Hunter, 6-5 forward Demarquelle Tabb, 6-5 guard/forward Casey Cantey and 6-5 guard/forward Brandon Allen.
"They like to play small ball and we can match up with them, but we've got a size advantage," he said. "We've got to throw the ball in the post and make them play.
"They're going to defend and rebound. When that ball is shot, we've got to block out and keep them off the glass. We've got to stop giving up so many second chance points. That is what is getting us right now."
A&M is led by Casey Cantey and Jeremy Crutcher.
Cantey is second in the league in scoring at 15.2 points per game. He is averaging 17.3 in league play. Crutcher is averaging 10 points and three assists per game.
Alabama State is led by Kenderek Washington (14.1), Tramaine Butler (11.8) and Ivory White (10.0).
On the women's side, A&M (7-7, 2-2) takes on ASU (6-7, 3-1) at 3 p.m.
The Bulldogs are led by Whiquitta Tobar, who is averaging 20.1 points per game. Three other players [- Shundray Davis (9.6), Jasmine Sanders (9.6) and NaDra Robertsonn (8.4) [- have been solid contributors.
The Hornets, tied for first place along with Southern and Alcorn State, have won three straight games after a 3-7 start.
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