Johnson Surpasses 1,000 Career Points in Home-Opening Loss to Yale

LORMAN, Miss. – Senior forward Reginal Johnson reached the 1,000-point milestone Wednesday to headline an 87-73 defeat to Yale from the Ivy League at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Johnson entered the game needing just five points to reach the plateau. He netted 15 points and also registered four rebounds, a career-high four assists and a career-high three steals. Johnson played 36 minutes which was another career-high.
 
Junior Dante Sterling also netted 15 points in the game, while senior A.J. Mosby recorded 14.
 
The Braves (0-6) trailed by as many in 16 in the first half when they came out hot after the intermission. Alcorn was down 44-34 when it went on a 7-0 spurt which included a three-pointer and lay-up by sophomore Maurice Howard, and a fast-break lay-up by freshman Troymain Crosby. It cut the deficit to 44-41 with 15:45 remaining.
 
Yale (3-3) answered with a 16-3 to leap back in front 60-44 with 10:40 left. The Bulldogs led by as many as 21 in the second half.
 
The Braves fought until the end and came as close as 80-69 at the 1:53 mark. Alcorn scored 49 points in the second half which was the most its scored in a half this season.
 
The Bulldogs were guided by Miye Oni who scored a game-high 16 points. Paul Atkinson tallied 13 points, and Azar Swain and Blake Reynolds each had 11.
 
Yale shot 26-54 (.481) from the field, while Alcorn was 24-60 (.400).
 
The Braves will remain at home Saturday when they host Concordia (Alabama) at 5 p.m. at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
NOTES
- It was just the second time in school history that the Braves hosted an Ivy League school and the first since 1983-84 when they defeated Columbia 70-49. It was Alcorn's second-ever meeting against Yale with the first coming on a neutral site in 1994-95, the Bulldogs ended on top 69-56. The Braves are now 2-2 all-time against the Ivy League.
 
- Johnson became the 39th student-athlete in school history to score 1,000 points. He etched his 54th career double-figure scoring game and fifth this year.
 
- Mosby notched his 21st career double-digit scoring game and fourth this year. He went 6-9 from the field and drained a pair of threes.
 
- Sterling's 15 points marked a career-high and topped his 12 points at Baylor. It was his second double-figure scoring game of the season as he nailed a trio of three-points and was 4-4 from the free throw line.
 
- Sophomore Yalen Reed and Crosby both swatted away a pair of blocks. Alcorn out-blocked Yale 5-1.
 
- Alcorn pulled down 16 offensive rebounds and out-scored the Bulldogs 18-13 in second-chance points.
 
- The 12:30 p.m. tip is the earliest on Alcorn's schedule this season.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"We had too many letdowns. From the beginning of the game, we got three stops defensively but then had three turnovers. That was the recipe of the game. We didn't take care of the ball or value the basketball. We finished the game with 18 turnovers and Yale scored 25 points off turnovers. Every other aspect of the game was pretty much even, but you're not going to win a ball game with that many unforced turnovers. We scored enough points to win but we're not guarding."
 
On whether Yale did things that surprised Alcorn
"No not at all, the scouting report was on-point. We stated in the pre-game that Yale is a team that's not going to beat themselves. They took a lot of quality shots but we definitely didn't communicate well on the defensive end. Communication is something that we go over every day in practice and again in shoot-around, but we just have mental lapses. We didn't play well or do a good job today. We are a capable team, but right now, we're not playing well."
 
On the comeback early in the second half
"We came out and cut the deficit to three in four minutes. In that four-minute span, we executed on both ends. We got some steals out of our traps and scored. Though, after that we went away from what was working and Yale got the lead back up. It's frustrating that we worked so hard to get back in the game just to lose focus like that."
 
On Reginal Johnson
"He played a nice second half. If he would have hit in the first half then he probably could have scored about 30. He missed some shots that he normally makes, but that's probably because he played too many minutes; 36 minutes is too many for him. It seemed like all of our other post players were in foul trouble so it was hard to sub him out. We tried to play zone and do some other things to take the focus off him and make it a little easier."
 
On preparing for Concordia on Saturday
"Well, we're going to have off on Thanksgiving and give our guys a little bit of a break. They'll be with their families and loved ones. We're going to thank the Lord for allowing us to do the things that we love to do. We ask that he pour some wisdom down on us and guide us in the right direction and keep everyone safe during this holiday week."
 
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