Alcorn Downs Southern 74-64 for Fourth Consecutive Win

LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University men's basketball program used the long-range shot to extend its winning-streak to four games Saturday in a 74-64 result over Southern at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Alcorn (9-11, 6-3 SWAC) drained 12 three-pointers to jump out to a 20-point lead halfway through the second half and then held off Southern (9-13, 5-4 SWAC) down the stretch. The 12 threes were the most by the Braves in conference play this year.
 
On the other end of the floor, the Braves entered the game leading the SWAC in three-point field goal percentage defense (.253) and held the Jags to a .154 (2-13) clip.
 
With the victory, Alcorn stands alone in second-place in the conference standings by a full game. It trails just Texas Southern which entered the night at 6-1.
 
Junior Reginal Johnson registered a game-high 20 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Senior Marquis Vance recorded 13 points and six rebounds, and junior A.J. Mosby tallied 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Senior DeAndre Davis neared a double-double with 10 points and a season-high nine rebounds.
 
All five Southern starters reached double-figures in scoring. Shawn Prudhomme ended with 16 points, Chris Thomas 12, Emanuel Sheperd 10, Trelun Banks 10 and Jared Sam 10.
 
Southern's only lead of the game came early, 6-2, but Vance drilled a three-pointer and followed it up with an old-fashion three-point play to put the Braves ahead 8-6 with 17:08 remaining. A three-pointer by Mosby from the left wing extended the edge to 20-13 at the 13:30 mark.
 
The Braves kept letting the threes fly as one by freshman Maurice Howard increased the advantage to 30-21 with 8:18 to go. Another long-range shot by Vance near the end of the shot clock gave Alcorn its biggest lead of the half 44-30 with 45 seconds left. The score remained the same at the intermission.
 
Leading 47-34 in the second half, Mosby sunk a three-pointer and Vance converted a lay-up to make it 52-34 with 17:19 remaining. A three-pointer by Johnson extended the lead to 59-39 at the 12:28 mark.
 
The Jags crept back late and used an 8-1 spurt after a trio of lay-ups to cut the deficit to 63-50 with 5:58 left. A shot from beyond-the-arc by Prudhomme made it 68-57 Alcorn with 3:03 to go.
 
Southern got as close as 71-64 with 1:07 remaining, but the hole was too deep. The Braves scored the final three points of the game and made stops defensively to end it.
 
It marked the only game of the weekend for both teams as they have Monday off. Alcorn will stay at home next weekend when it hosts Jackson State at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Grambling at 7 p.m. Monday.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn has now won at least four consecutive SWAC games three times over the last two seasons. Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson improved his SWAC record to 19-8.
 
- The Braves are 6-2 at home this season where they have outscored the opposition 623-498.
 
- Johnson has scored at least 12 points in 18 of the last 19 games, and has pulled down at least five rebounds in 19 of the last 20 contests. He posted his 37th career double-figure scoring game while reaching 20 points for the fourth time. Johnson entered the game ranked fourth in the league in free throw percentage (.846) in league games and was a perfect four-for-four in the contest.
 
- Vance notched his 65th career double-figure scoring game, 15th this year and sixth in the last seven games. He needs just 20 more points to reach 1,200 in his career.
 
- Mosby became the first Brave to play 40 minutes this season which marked a career-high. He's scored in double-digits in six of the last seven games, and nine times this year. Mosby is the only Brave to start in every game this year.
 
- Davis poured in his fourth consecutive double-figure scoring games. He's grabbed at least six rebounds in five of the last six matches. Davis came into the affair shooting .519 from the field in conference games and was three-for-four in the game.
 
- Alcorn swatted away a season-high 11 blocks. Vance rejected a career-high four, while Davis matched his career-high with three.
 
- The Braves dominated the Jags in bench points 28-6.
 
- Alcorn is now 9-1 this year when leading at half.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"I'm really pleased with being 6-3 after the first half of conference play. I thought we had a chance going-in to be 7-2 at this point but I'm pleased with where we are. We have some guys bruised up and the bench is playing really well. We have guys coming in and sustaining what the starters are doing. I'm really happy with the effort everyone's been giving."
 
On going 12-for-15 from the free throw line
"We've been shooting a lot of them at practice. Our guys are really taking their time and concentrating on making them. We were perfect from the line for a while in this game, but 80 percent isn't bad obviously. I really thought at the start of the year that we could be a 75-percent team because we have great shooters. We just have to stay focused for the duration of the game."
 
On Denzel Dulin
"It was a game-time decision as to whether he'd even play today. He's really been banged up, and he's giving everything he's got. He's a true leader out there and we were able to sustain the level of play he gives us with some of our bench guys tonight. We're really blessed to have him."
 
On Alcorn's big guys shooting threes
"I let all of my big guys shoot from the outside. In fact, they're some of my better shooters on the team. They don't take a lot of them, but they take the good percentage ones. I give them the freedom to do that."
 
On the next step for the team
"The coaching staff needs to look at all the things we've been doing right and wrong. We're glad we don't have a game Monday because it gives us a chance to go back and reflect back on the first nine games. Even during this winning-streak there have been a lot of things we need to correct in order to get better. We still have break downs here and there which can't happen. Late in the game tonight was a perfect example as we let them back in and started playing a little timid. Though I'm pleased with where we're at."
 
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