GRAMBLING, La. (AP) Avery Ugba and Remond Brown each scored 21 points and Grambling State beat Alabama State 82-69 on Thursday night to keep pace with Jackson State and Prairie View A&M in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings.

The Tigers (14-16, 9-8) are tied with Jackson State and Prairie View for fourth with one game remaining, with the top-four seeds earning first round home games in the conference tournament.

Ervin Mitchell added 19 points for Grambling, which shot 55.8 percent from the field and 60 percent from long range.

Grambling opened on an 11-0 run and built a 42-27 lead at the break. A Brown jumper with 15:57 left made it 52-32 Tigers. Alabama State rallied to within six with 6:20 left, but an 8-0 Grambling run pushed the score back out of reach.

Corvon Butler and Reginald Gee scored 19 points apiece for the Hornets (8-21, 6-11).

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