BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The three-game winning-streak for the Alcorn State University men's basketball program was broken-up by UAB 76-49 Tuesday at Bartow Arena.
UAB (7-4) opened the game on fire, shooting 17-for-21 (.810) in the first half. The Blazers cooled off a little bit in the second, but Alcorn (4-7) was just 16-for-50 (.320) from the field in the game.
However, in spite of the shooting percentages, the Braves were able to hang around for most of the contest. It wasn't until a big run by the Blazers late in the second that put the game away.
Junior
Maurice Howard was the only Brave in double-figures with 15 points, four assists and a steal in 39 minutes. Senior
Reginal Johnson and junior Deshaw Andrews netted nine points apiece.
UAB's Jalen Perry was 6-for-7 from the floor for a game-high 17 points. Makhtar Gueye shot 6-for-9 from the field with 15 points.
A lay-up by sophomore
Troymain Crosby gave Alcorn a slight 5-4 edge after the first minute and a half. Though, the Blazers responded with an 11-0 run to catapult ahead 15-5 and never looked back. The Blazers led by as many as 35-16 in the first half at the 6:59 mark.
The last bucket of the half came on a jumper by Andrews, but Alcorn trailed 43-28 at the intermission.
The Braves tried to chip away in the second half as a lay-up by junior
Devon Brewer trimmed the deficit to 45-32 with 15:27 to go. Alcorn further cut into UAB's lead after three free throws by Howard made it a 55-44 game with 9:01 remaining.
However, the Braves couldn't get any closer. They trailed 57-46 when the Blazers went on a big 14-0 spurt to pull away.
Alcorn will conclude a grueling non-conference schedule when it travels to South Florida for a 6 p.m. (CT) game.
NOTES
- The Braves posted a season-high .846 percentage from the free throw line. They were 11-for-13 including a 5-for-5 mark from Andrews and a 3-for-3 clip from Howard.
- Howard registered his 28th career double-figure scoring game, sixth this year and fourth in a row. The point guard turned the ball over just three times in 39 minutes and is among the SWAC's leaders in assist:turnover ratio. Howard has drained at least two three-pointers in 10 of 11 games this year.
- Junior seven-footer
Alonzo Campbell returned to the floor for the first time since Nov. 16 at Vanderbilt. He missed the previous seven games due to an injury. Campbell scored two points in nine minutes.
- Alcorn is in the midst of a loaded non-conference schedule which includes trips to Tulsa, Vanderbilt, Kent State, Liberty, Mississippi State and South Florida.
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"We started out slow and couldn't make a shot. We were executing on the offensive end and cutting hard, but just couldn't buy a bucket. Then on the other end, defensively we were hanging off of them, and had the scheme that we wanted, but UAB was just throwing up everything and making them. So, it was disheartening to us because our guys were working their butts off but it wasn't going our way. UAB shoots around 29 or 30 percent from three on the season, but came out and shot 67 percent in the first half. It was just one of those nights. We just wanted to hang in there and keep working, and were able to cut it to 11 in the second half. We then had four straight turnovers - we can't have that sort of letdown. We worked so hard to stay in it but just didn't value the ball enough during that stretch."
On the message at halftime
"Stick to the game plan.
Delvin Thompson put together a great scout and we wanted to take the backdoor cuts away. We tried to get out on their shooters quicker and force them into tougher shots. Though, it just goes back to us having a letdown offensively and we didn't value the basketball like we should have."
On Alcorn's tough shooting night
"We just couldn't buy a bucket. We had some great looks but just couldn't knock them down. We just tried to tell them to keep pushing defensively and the buckets will come. We need more consistency though from our guys and we can't have our top three scorers all having tough shooting nights in the same game."
Closing Statement
"We were encouraged by stretches of this game. We showed that we are a capable team and we have to start holding ourselves accountable. We are a good basketball team, we just have to play like it the entire game. Playing in spurts is not good enough."
#FearTheBrave
