Alcorn Beats ASU 78-71 after Rollercoaster Second Half

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Both teams went on 11-0 runs to flip momentum back-and-forth in the second half, but it was the Alcorn State University men's basketball program that struck last to win 78-71 on Saturday at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
 
The Braves (7-11, 4-3 SWAC) were seemingly in control early in the second half 50-43 when the Hornets (4-14, 2-4 SWAC) reeled off 11 straight points to go up 54-50 with 11:42 remaining.
 
Still down 62-55 with a vocal crowd not in Alcorn's favor, the Braves found a way to fire back with an 11-0 run of their own to regain a 66-62 edge with 5:22 left. After ASU came back to tie it with a pair of jumpers, Alcorn ended the game on a 10-3 spurt to seal the deal.
 
Alcorn built its initial lead after a huge first half from freshman Maurice Howard. He was a perfect five-for-five from three-point range and finished with a career-high 18 points.
 
Also in double-figures, senior Marquis Vance ended with 13 points and five rebounds, junior Reginal Johnson 12 points and five rebounds, and senior DeAndre Davis 11 points and six rebounds.
 
ASU was guided by Tony Armstrong's 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Rodney Simeon posted 13 points and Reginald Gee had 12 points.
 
The Hornets scored the first seven points of the game, but the Braves got on the board with an and-one by Vance on the fast-break, followed by a Howard's first of five three-pointers in the half. After ASU slightly extended its lead to 15-10, Howard hit another long-range shot to trail 15-13 at the 11:38 mark.
 
ASU answered with a 6-2 run to take its biggest lead of the half 21-15. Still down 25-20, the Braves came back to tie it with a dunk by Davis and then Howard's fourth three-pointer. Howard's fifth three-pointer gave Alcorn its first lead of the match 28-27 with just under seven minutes left.
 
Alcorn led 30-29 when freshman Tyler Carter got in on the action with both an old-fashion three-point play and a long-range three-pointer to give the Braves a 36-29 advantage with 4:29 remaining. The Braves carried a 42-35 lead into the break after a put-back by Davis on their final possession.
 
Still leading 50-43 in the second half, the Hornets responded with a big 11-0 run to go back on top 54-50 with 11:42 to go as they were able to cash-in on second-chance opportunities. ASU kept streaking with strong drives and extended the lead to 62-55 at the 7:42 mark.
 
Alcorn punched back with an 11-0 spurt of its own to regain control for the time being. It started after Howard drained a pair of free throws, Vance hit a step-back three-pointer and Mosby scored on the fast-break to even it 62-62 with six minutes left. A pair of free throws by senior Denzel Dulin and runner by Vance completed the run to put the Braves back ahead 66-62 with 4:42 remaining.
 
ASU answered with back-to-back jumpers to level it again at 66 with under 3:58 left.
 
Alcorn used a 5-0 run which included a tip-in by Johnson after a missed three-pointer, and an inside bucket by Vance to go up 71-66 with 2:01 to go. The Hornets came right back down the court and drilled a three-pointer to trail by two with 1:40 remaining.
 
The Braves finished strong by scoring the final five points. Johnson converted a lay-up with 1:15 left, and after a stop defensively the Hornets were forced to foul.
 
Alcorn will close out the weekend at Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The Braves are looking for their third consecutive victory over AAMU after sweeping the season series last year 63-58 at home and 62-58 on the road.
 
NOTES
- The Braves won at ASU for the first time since Jan. 26, 2009.
 
- Alcorn posted both its second consecutive win overall and second straight road victory. Its last away game was a 63-50 win at Jackson State on Jan. 11.
 
- The Braves improved to 7-1 this season when leading at half.
 
- Alcorn committed just eight turnovers in the game which was a season-best for conference play this year.
 
- Howard's previous career-high was 12 points set against Selma University. He became the second Brave to make five three-pointers in a game this year after junior A.J. Mosby did it against Rust College on Dec. 22. Howard notched his fifth double-figure scoring game of the season and third in conference
 
- Vance registered his 63rd career double-digit scoring game, 13th this year and fourth in his last five games.
 
- Johnson has now scored at least 12 points in 16 of the last 17 games, and has pulled down at least five rebounds in 17 of the last 18 contests. He poured in his 35th career double-figure scoring match.
 
- Davis etched his 13th career double-figure scoring game and second in a row. He's pulled down at least six rebounds in each of the last four outings.
 
- In conference games, the Braves entered the contest leading the league in both field goal percentage defense (.378) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.257). They will improve upon both marks as they held the Hornets to .352 (25-71) from the field and .217 (5-23) from beyond-the-arc.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"This is a tough place to win. They have the crowd heckling you the whole game, but our guys stayed focused. We gave up a seven-point lead in the second half, but at the time I reminded the guys that we came back from a similar deficit in the first half so we had time. We did a great job of executing our plays down the stretch and getting stops defensively."
 
On Maurice Howard's first half
"He had the hot hand and I told the guys that we were going to ride him. We ran about three or four straight plays for him and he was able to knock down the open shots. He also did a great job of taking care of the ball. We only had eight turnovers in the game which is amazing. All of our point guards really took care of the ball today and found the open guys."
 
On holding ASU to 35 percent shooting on their home court
"Our goal was to contest every shot. We wanted to make it as tough as we could on them and force them to take hard shots. ASU definitely has some big and athletic guys."
 
Closing Statement
"Tonight was a great team effort. We played 11 different guys and the energy and effort was certainly there. The actual arena was very hot so I wanted to use a lot of guys to avoid cramping and exhaustion. It paid off down the stretch as we were able to pull away at the very end."
 
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