Braves Roll Past Golden Lions 82-64

LORMAN, Miss. – Four student-athletes scored in double-figures for the Alcorn State University men's basketball program in an 82-64 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Alcorn (6-11, 3-3 SWAC) started slow against UAPB (4-15, 3-2 SWAC), but used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to take control and never looked back. The Braves led by nine at the intermission and held a double-figure lead for most of the second half.
 
Alcorn dominated on the glass with a 44-27 rebounding advantage and also in the paint 44-24. The Braves shot .537 (29-54) from the field and held the Golden Lions to a .393 (22-56) mark.
 
Junior Reginal Johnson paved the way with 16 points and seven rebounds. Senior DeAndre Davis registered 15 points and seven rebounds. Junior A.J. Mosby neared a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Senior Marquis Vance finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
 
Just under double-digits, junior Avery Patterson poured in nine points on a perfect three-for-three shooting night from beyond-the-arc. Senior Denzel Dulin ended with eight points.
 
UAPB was guided by Trent Steen's 17 points. Deshon Bayless netted 14 points, and Ghiavonni Robinson and Travon Harper each scored 10.
 
Vance scored the team's first five points of the game on an old-fashion three-point play and a lay-up, but the Braves trailed 9-5 early. Still down 11-7, Johnson powered his way for a bucket inside which sparked a 9-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Dulin to put Alcorn on top 16-11 at the 11:16 mark.
 
A three-pointer by freshman Maurice Howard and a strong move in the paint by Davis extended the edge to 24-15 with 8:20 remaining. A pair of free throws by Johnson kept them up 32-23 with 4:17 to go. The Braves carried a 38-29 advantage into the break as Vance scored the final basket of the half on a tip-in.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers by Patterson pushed the Alcorn lead up to 45-33 early in the second half. The Braves extended it to 58-45 after a free throw by Johnson at the 10:32 mark.
 
The Golden Lions came back with a 7-0 run to make it 58-52 with 8:05 remaining, but the Braves quickly answered with a three-point play by Johnson and a long-range shot by Davis to regain control 64-52 with 7:00 left.
 
Alcorn took its biggest lead of the game 83-64 on its final possession after freshman Tyler Carter swished a jumper from the left wing.
 
The Braves will hit the road this weekend when they take on Alabama State at 5 p.m. Saturday and Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Alcorn's next home game is Saturday, Jan. 28 at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts Southern on Greek Night.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn posted its third consecutive victory over UAPB after sweeping the season series last year 79-60 at home and 73-65 on the road.
 
- The Braves improved to 5-2 at home this season where they have outscored the opposition 549-434.
 
- Alcorn is now 6-1 this season when leading at half and 4-0 when scoring at least 80 points.
 
- The Braves entered the game leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.275) and limited UAPB to a .167 (3-18) three-point mark.
 
- Alcorn's .537 shooting percentage marked a season-high in conference play.
 
- Johnson registered his 34th career double-figure scoring game. He's scored at least 12 points in 15 of the last 16 games, and has secured at least five rebounds in 16 of the last 17 contests. Johnson was coming off a monster performance of 28 points and 16 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, both were career-highs.
 
- Vance tallied his 62nd second career double-figure scoring game, 12th this season and third in his last four games. His three steals matched a career-high.
 
- Mosby etched his fourth consecutive double-figure game and seventh this year. His eight assists were a career-high. Mosby is the only Brave to start every game this season.
 
- Davis' 15 points marked a season-high. It was his 12th career double-figure scoring game and second this year. He's pulled down at least seven rebounds in each of the last three matches.
 
- Junior Juwan Henderson grabbed three steals in the contest. He's snatched eight steals over the last two games.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"The key for us is not going into droughts offensively or lulls defensively. For the most part, we stuck to our assignments defensively and we made them shoot tough shots. UAPB has post guys who can really shoot those mid-range shots and I told my guys that we just have to contest them. They are well-coached and really play their zone well. We went through a lot of preparation for their zone and we had some good stretches, but 25 turnovers for us is just way too many."
 
On shooting over 50 percent from the field
"It's all about taking good shots. We needed to pass it well and we did which put our guys in good situations where they could score. Everyone was doing their job offensively and that's what we need to have night-in and night-out."
 
On A.J. Mosby
"A.J. is capable of putting up these type of numbers every night. Sometimes he tries to do too much, but when he takes what the defense gives him then he's capable of putting up a triple-double."
 
Closing Statement
"We're most definitely excited about tonight's win. Hopefully this is the start of a run. We can't keep swopping wins and losses each game. We want to continue our winning ways heading into next weekend."
 
#FearTheBrave