HOUSTON, Texas -- Daniel Duhart threw for 223 yards and a career-high three touchdowns to lead Alabama State to a 34-2 win over Texas Southern in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) match up. The win was ASU's fourth consecutive win.Most of the scoring was done in the first half as ASU went into the locker room with a 28-0 lead. The second half saw the Hornets backups get most of the playing time as ASU scored six points on two Alex Lauthan field goals in the second half.
"This was a game we knew we needed to win and the guys came out and played hard," Head Coach Reggie Barlow said. "We played with good energy early on. We were proud of the effort the guys gave."
The story of the game was the Hornets defense holding TSU's offense to -38 yards rushing on 29 attempts. That number was even larger in the first half as TSU had -77 yards rushing.
ASU's defense came up with eight sacks lost 73 yards and the defense registered 18 tackles behind the line of scrimmage that lost 102 yards. Seven players registered sacks with Daerius Washington and Ray Heningburg leading the way with two each. Leland Baker led the defense with four stops behind the line of scrimmage and Kourtney Berry had 3.5.
TSU did throw for 262 yards to finish the game with 185 total yards. Their two points came in the fourth quarter when they were able to stop an ASU running back in the endzone.
"In my eyes the defense pitched a shutout tonight," Barlow said. "We gave up a safety there at the end which is unfortunate, but I thought our defense played with a lot of energy. They lined up and were very combative and got to the quarterback. We were able to get a couple of turnovers so we are proud of how they played."
For the sixth time this season, the Hornets were able to hit the 200 yards rushing threshold. Isaiah Crowell led the way with 68 yards on 14 carries. He started the scoring with his six yard scoring run early in the game.
With the game in hand, Crowell sat out the second half while other runners played. Malcolm Cyrus finished the game with 60 yards and Khalid Thomas, in his most extensive action of the season, gained 53 yards on seven attempts.
Duhart finished the game completing 19 of his 29 passing attempts to gain his 223 passing yards. Nine players caught passes in the game with Earl Lucas leading the way with seven receptions for 81 yards.
Duhart's three first-half touchdowns went to two different receivers as two went to Justin Robinson and one to DeMario Bell, which covered 43 yards. The scores came after Crowell's six yard scoring run..
The Hornets defense was outstanding in the first half holding TSU to only eight yards on 27 plays. That includes -77 yards rushing on 15 running attempts.
"This was another building block against a team that was looking for a victory and our guys fought through it," Barlow said. "When you play a team that is 0-4 sometimes you have a mental breakdown and I am proud of these guys for not allowing that to happen."
ASU (4-2/ 4-1 SWAC) will be back home next week, Saturday, Oct. 12 when they host Prairie View A&M at 1 p.m. in New ASU Stadium.
COURTESY ALABAMA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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