Men's Basketball | 1/8/2017 5:06:00 PM

Braves Return to Action at Grambling

Alcorn Game Notes | Live Radio

GRAMBLING, La. – After an unexpected day off Saturday, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program returns to the court Monday when it heads to Grambling State at 7:30 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
Alcorn (4-9, 1-1 SWAC) was scheduled to play at Jackson State on Saturday, but the game was postponed due to unsafe driving conditions. The game will be made-up on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Braves will look to duplicate their strong defensive performance from last Wednesday when they defeated Prairie View A&M 66-55. The Braves held the Panthers to just 16-for-49 (.327) shooting and 3-for-15 from beyond-the-arc.
 
Grambling (6-10, 1-2 SWAC) fell to Southern 87-79 on Saturday. The Tigers dropped their conference opener at Alabama State 73-69 but came back to defeat Alabama A&M 69-67.
 
The Braves are led by their "sixth man" junior Reginal Johnson who averages 15.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per outing. He's shooting .521 from the field and is on a streak of 12 consecutive double-figure scoring games including at least 18 points in each of the last three contests.
 
Senior Marquis Vance puts in 10.9 points per outing and is the team's leading rebounder with 8.3 per game. In SWAC play, Vance leads the league in both rebounding (10.5 drpg) and defensive rebounds (9.0 rpg). He's second in blocks with 1.5 per contest.
 
Freshman Maurice Howard is averaging 10.5 points through two conference games. He scored 10 points against Texas Southern and 11 vs. PVAMU. On the year, Howard is Alcorn's top three-point threat with a .390 shooting mark.
 
The Tigers have four double-figure scorers with Ervin Mitchell at the top with 17.1 points per game and shoots the three-point shot at a .438 clip. Remond Brown averages 14.4 points per outing, while Averyl Ugba and Nigel Ribeiro are both at 10.6. Ugba nearly records a double-double with 9.1 rebounds per contest.
 
The game can be heard via radio on 91.7 WPRL FM with Charles Edmond as the voice of the Braves.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn is looking to win its fifth consecutive game over Grambling after sweeping the season series in back-to-back years.
 
- The Braves are coming off a 66-55 victory over Prairie View A&M on Wednesday. Alcorn turned a one-point halftime lead into a double-digit win as it held the Panthers to just 16-for-49 (.327) shooting and 3-of-15 (.200) from beyond-the-arc.
 
- Through two conference games, Alcorn leads the league in blocks (4.0 bpg) and defensive rebounds (30.0 drpg). The Braves rank second in scoring defense (61.0 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.361), three-point percentage defense (.219) and rebounding margin (+8.0).
 
- Johnson has pulled down at least five rebounds in every game this year. In conference games, Johnson leads the league in offensive rebounds (4.0 orpg) and is fourth in total rebounds (7.5 rpg).
 
- Vance has tallied 59 career double-figure scoring games and eight double-doubles. He's Alcorn's newest member of the 1,000-point club after he surpassed the mark against Blue Mountain on Nov. 22, 2016.
 
- Averaging just under double-figures for the Braves, senior Denzel Dulin nets 9.5 points per contest. Dulin scored a career-high 20 points at Colorado State which upped his previous best of 16 set in the game before against Blue Mountain. He's coming off a 10-point performance against PVAMU.
 
- Junior A.J. Mosby is the only Brave to start in every game this year. He leads the team in both assists and steals.
 
- Senior DeAndre Davis returned to the lineup for conference play after missing the previous nine games with a hand injury. He posted 12 points and five rebounds against Texas Southern in his first game back. Through two league games, Davis ranks third in the conference in field goal percentage with a .778 mark.
 
- The Braves have won a pair of weekly awards this year, both coming in the same week. On Dec. 27, Johnson was named SWAC Player of the Week, while Mosby earned College Sports Madness Player of the Week. Johnson ended non-conference play with back-to-back double-doubles of 12 points and 10 rebounds at Grand Canyon and 19 points and 12 rebounds vs. Rust. Mosby registered a career game of 19 points and 10 rebounds against Rust as both figures were career-highs.
 
- Freshman Yalen Reed has been hot from the field. He's shooting 14-for-21 (.667) over the last eight games and 21-for-34 (.618) on the year. Reed ranks sixth in the SWAC in blocks with 0.8 per outing. He ended non-conference play with an 11-point affair against Rust where he went 5-for-7 from the field.
 
- Junior Avery Patterson missed the first two games of the season but came back to score 14 points in each of his first two games returning. He concluded non-conference play with a strong performance of 12 points and six rebounds against Rust where he went three-for-six from long-range.
 
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