Andrews Nets 26 Points in Defeat at No. 25 Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Continuing to up his career-high, junior Deshaw Andrews registered 26 points and seven rebounds Monday for the Alcorn State University men's basketball program, but the Braves fell to No. 25 Mississippi State 88-65 at Humphery Coliseum.
 
Andrews was 8-for-17 from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line for the Braves (1-6). He drilled a couple of three-pointers and also grabbed a game-high four steals.
 
The York, South Carolina native was coming off a previous career-high of 21 points against Savannah State on Saturday. He poured in his third 20-plus scoring game of the season.
 
Though as a team, Alcorn couldn't slowdown a scorching hot MSU (5-1) squad from the field. The Bulldogs shot .611 (33-54) from the floor and .458 (11-24) from beyond-the-arc.
 
Reggie Perry tallied a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds for MSU. Lamar Peters and Nick Weatherspoon finished with 17 points apiece.
 
Alcorn's only lead of the game came on the very first bucket as Andrews converted a lay-up to go up 2-0. The Bulldogs quickly answered with an 11-0 run to go up 11-2.
 
The Braves kept it close after another lay-up by Andrews made it a 17-15 game at the 13:03 mark. It wasn't until a 12-0 run near the end of the half put MSU up for good, as the Bulldogs went into the intermission leading 44-29.
 
MSU led by as many as 33 mid-way through the second half. The Braves made a late push, as three-pointers by Andrews, junior Maurice Howard and sophomore Kobe Wilson trimmed the deficit to 81-60 with 4:06 left. The game ended with a dunk by Andrews which put an exclamation point on his night.
 
The contest wrapped-up a five-game road trip for Alcorn. The Braves will be back at home Saturday at 11 a.m. when they host Rust College. Admission to the game is free, but parking is required due to the SWAC Championship football game.
 
NOTES
- It was the first meeting between Alcorn and MSU since 1990-91. The Bulldogs now lead the all-time series 3-2. The most notable match-up was when the undefeated Braves knocked off MSU 80-78 in the first round of the 1978-79 NIT.
 
- Andrews posted his fifth double-figure scoring game of the year. It was also the fourth time he pulled down at least seven rebounds. Andrews, who leads the SWAC in steals per game (2.0), doubled his season average. He's the only Brave to start in every game this year.
 
- Alcorn entered the game leading the SWAC in three-pointers made as a team, and were exactly on par with seven. In addition to the pair by Andrews, Howard also made a couple.
 
- The Braves really mixed their starting lineup as junior Noah Plain made his first career start and senior TyQuaylon Smith made his second start in four years. Plain finished with six points, fours rebounds and a block. The starting lineup featured four forwards as senior Reginal Johnson also made his first start of the year.
 
- Alcorn is in the midst of a loaded non-conference schedule which also includes trips at Tulsa, Vanderbilt, Kent State, Liberty, UAB and South Florida.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"We competed and hung in there tough for a while. We were playing active and scrappy. Mississippi State did a great job of swinging the ball around and making us have to scramble a little bit, and they made shots. Our guys did a good job of contesting, but Mississippi State just had one of those nights after having some recent droughts. Our guys stuck to the game plan and played with good pace and tempo. I was pleased for the most part, and a lot of the mistakes we made are things that we can correct."
 
On MSU shooting 61 percent
"Yeah it really is tough to beat a team when it shoots 61 percent. Though, we accomplished a lot of the things we wanted to do coming into the game. We wanted to get to the free throw line 20 times and we did that. We rebounded well early, we just have to do a better job of finishing our box-out throughout the game and not allowing second chance baskets. We also wanted to have under 12 turnovers tonight, and we were right there with 12 and only had three in the second half. I can't complain about the effort tonight."
 
On Deshaw Andrews
"He plays at a good pace. He plays at his own speed and he's not going to let the other team change the way he plays. He took what they gave him tonight. If they gave him space, he shot it. If they got in his face, he'd pump fake and drive. He finished at the rim tonight and also got to the free throw line. I'm pleased with his growth and development, and he's really starting to get comfortable within the system."
 
On the change in the starting lineup
"We wanted to juggle it a little bit. We wanted to try and create a match-up problem for Mississippi State and make their guards defend our power players. It paid off early as our guys were battling in there and we gave them a different look. It also gave us a chance to play different guys since we've been on a long road trip and I wanted to try and rest guys like Maurice Howard, Jael Scott and Devon Brewer.  Those guys had been playing a lot of minutes out there and I wanted them to come in fresh. We're still a work in progress but we are getting better."
 
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