Ex-Alabama State basketball players banned over fixed 2024 game

The NCAA announced that four players from Alabama State’s 2024-25 men’s college basketball team have been permanently banned as the result of a match-fixing scandal.

According to the announcement, Amarr Knox, Shawn Fulcher, Corey Hines and Tony Madlock manipulated the outcome of a game between Alabama State and Southern Miss on Dec. 5, 2024.

Southern Miss closed as a 6-point favorite at home and easily won 81-64, despite being down 33-30 at halftime.

Per the NCAA, the four players were offered a total of $2,000 from two “known bettors” to throw the game.

The players accepted the offer and were paid out.

Knox played 30 minutes in the contest and scored 11 points, going 4-for-11 from the field.

CJ Hines in action for Alabama State. AP Photo/Jeff Dean

Hines contributed 18 points in 31 minutes.

Fulcher came off the bench to tally 11 points in 19 minutes.

Madlock didn’t feature in the contest.

Knox, Hines and Madlock led the Hornets in scoring in 2024-25, while Fulcher was mainly a reserve player.

Knox scored one of the most significant baskets in school history when he hit a game-winning layup with one second left against Saint Francis in the 2025 First Four.

It was Alabama State’s first NCAA Tournament win.

The two bettors involved in the plot were indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on wire fraud and bribery charges related to gambling on sports contests.

The Alabama State scheme was discovered after Hines transferred to Temple, which notified the NCAA’s enforcement staff that the Atlanta native had been contacted by the FBI and was shown text messages about a sporting integrity issue while he was playing for Alabama State.

The four Alabama State teammates are part of a growing list of college basketball players who have been sanctioned for participating in match-fixing schemes in recent seasons.

None of the four players participated in the 2025-26 college basketball season.