Men's Basketball | 3/9/2017 5:20:00 PM

Braves Continue SWAC Championships against Southern in Houston

Alcorn Game Notes | Live Radio

HOUSTON – After a three-day layoff, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program will resume its journey at the SWAC Championships on Friday when it squares off against Southern at 8:30 p.m. at the Toyota Center.
 
The game can be heard via radio on wprl.org with Charles Edmond as the voice of the Braves.
 
No. 2 Alcorn (17-13, 13-5 SWAC) opened the conference tournament Tuesday with a 63-60 home victory over Mississippi Valley State in the first round. The Braves were clinging to a one-point lead when senior Denzel Dulin grabbed a key steal and hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to help secure the win.
 
Now, the Braves must beat the third-seeded Jaguars (15-17, 10-8 SWAC) for the third time this season in order to make it to the finals. Alcorn won the first meeting this year 74-64 at home on Jan. 28, and the second meeting 68-67 on Feb. 25 on the road.
 
In the two games, junior A.J. Mosby shot a combined 9-for-18 (.500) from three-point range. He scored 12 points in the first meeting and 19 in the second. Junior Reginal Johnson, an All-Conference Second-Team honoree, also reached double-figures in both contests with 20 points in the first and 11 in the second.
 
On the other side of the court, Southern's Shawn Prudhomme netted 16 points in the first match and 25 in the second. Prudhomme averages 17.6 points per game and was tabbed to the All-Conference First-Team.
 
The Braves also have an All-Conference First-Team selection in senior Marquis Vance. He averages 11.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per outing and also ranks top-10 in the league in blocks. He's joined in double-figures by Johnson who scores a team-best rate of 15.5 points per match and also secures 7.0 rebounds per game.
 
Over the last nine games, Mosby is shooting 29-for-57 (.509) from three-point range. During that span, he increased his scoring average from 9.0 to 10.5 points per game. His .399 three-point field goal percentage on the season is a team-best.
 
Friday will be the first time Alcorn and Southern have met in the postseason since March 9, 2006 when the Jags came out on top 73-52 in the first round. The game was played at Southern.
 
The championship game is slated for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU. With a win over Southern, the Braves would play either No. 1 Texas Southern or No. 5 Grambling. Alcorn would be looking for its 24th championship and eighth conference tournament title (its first since 2001-02).
 
NOTES
- Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson was named SWAC Coach of the Year. His squad was projected to finish in fifth-place in the SWAC Preseason Poll but rose three spots to earn the No. 2 seed. It came after Alcorn went from ninth-place to second-place after his first year.
 
- In two seasons, Robinson hoists a 26-10 conference record. He's coached the Braves to back-to-back winning seasons in conference for the first time since 2001-02, 02-03.
 
- Alcorn's 17 wins overall are the most since 2001-02 when it won 20 games. That was also the last time the Braves had a winning season overall.
 
- Vance tallied 69 career double-figure scoring games and 10 double-doubles. He's up to 1,283 career points, 785 rebounds and 208 assists. Vance ranks top-10 in the league in rebounding, blocks and assists.
 
- Johnson, a two-time SWAC Player of the Week winner, has scored at least 10 points in 28 of the last 29 games. He's netted at least 20 points five times this season including outings of 28 and 27 in two regular season games against MVSU.
 
- The Braves went on an 11-game winning-streak in conference which was the fifth longest active streak in the nation. It was also the fourth longest in program history, and the longest since 1998-99. Alcorn also held a six-game road winning-streak which was the seventh-longest in the country.
 
- Alcorn was a perfect 7-0 in February.
 
- In conference games, the Braves led the league in field goal percentage (.458), field goal percentage defense (.402), three-point field goal percentage defense (.287), assists (13.7 apg) and defensive rebounds (26.6 drpg).
 
- Alcorn is 14-2 this season when leading at half, 7-0 when holding the opposition to under 60 points and 6-0 when shooting over 50 percent from the field.
 
- The Braves finished 11-2 at home this season where they outscored the opposition 979-807.
 
- Mosby is the only Brave to start in every game this year and also the only one to play 40 minutes in a contest. In league games, he ranked third in the SWAC in three-point field goal percentage (.427), seventh in assists (2.8 apg) and ninth in minutes played (32.2 mpg).
 
- Senior DeAndre Davis has scored nine double-figure scoring games in conference. He recorded a season-high 23 points at Texas Southern where he was 10-for-15 from the field and secured eight rebounds. It was the second time he scored at least 20 points this season. Davis shot .591 from the field in league games which ranked fourth sixth. He was also top-10 in rebounding. Davis averages 9.2 points per game on the year.
 
- Dulin puts in 9.4 points per affair. He registered at least eight points in 12 conference games. He scored a career-high 20 points at Colorado State on Nov. 27.
 
- Freshman Maurice Howard is shooting a team-best .814 from the free throw line and is second in three-point field goal percentage at a .381 mark. He's sunk at least four three-pointers three times.
 
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