Albany State splits at home

ALBANY — The Albany State Lady Rams played about 30 solid minutes of basketball Saturday against Paine College which wasn’t enough in the 40 minute game as the Lady Rams fell 68-59.

Paine got out to a 21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Albany State bounced back, outscoring them 22-12 in the second quarter, and went into the break with a slight 34-33 lead.

An abysmal third quarter doomed the Lady Rams as they managed just four points. Head coach Robert Skinner said his team is still not focusing for a full four quarters.

“I think (all of our troubles) are a lack of focus. I think 29 turnovers is a lack of focus, I think 30 percent from the floor is a lack of focus, I think giving up too many points is a lack of focus,” he said. “Our biggest problem is we don’t focus. We don’t come prepared. … They seemed not to be focused and not to trust what I’m saying.”

Down by double digits in the fourth, Albany State started to make a comeback and cut the lead to six at one point, but second chance opportunities by Paine kept the Lady Rams from completing it.

Kayla Green finished with 16 points to lead the Lady Rams, followed by Elesha Foster with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Zuri Frost led the team in rebounds with 11.

The Lady Rams fell to 2-14 on the season and 2-4 in the conference.

Albany State men 68 Paine College 59

After what ASU head coach Michael Moore described as a sluggish first half, the Rams put together a strong second to defeat Paine and improve to 9-8 on the season and 4-3 overall.

The first half featured 15 lead changes and five ties, but the Rams played from behind most of the period. Moore said having played several out of state games in a short amount of time appeared to have taken its toll on his team. He credited his bench players for coming through in the clutch and giving them a much needed spark.

“It wasn’t X’s and O’s; we just missed so many easy shots starting off the game. That was the difference in the game, and our energy level was low,” he said. “Those road games up in Frankfurt, Ky., and up in Ohio, I think it’s taken its toll playing three, four, five games back-to-back and it kind of showed tonight. We were just very sluggish. I’m very fortunate we are 11 deep.”

The Rams reclaimed the lead for the final time with about nine minutes remaining in the second half. A Khaliq Hughes dunk on the very next ASU possession got the home crowd behind them and put the Rams up 57-54 with 8:46 left to play.

The Rams would go on to get baskets from Mike Green and Randy McClure as they extended the lead to nine with 2:28 to go and from there they would hold on.

Hughes finished with a team-high 13 points, followed by JaDon Davis with 11.