Braves Fall to USF in Non-Conference Finale

TAMPA – To conclude non-conference play, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program came on the short end of an 83-44 decision to South Florida on Friday at the Yuengling Center.
 
Junior Deshaw Andrews led Alcorn (4-8) with a team-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. Sophomore Troymain Crosby tallied eight points and seven rebounds.
 
The Braves swatted away a season-high eight blocks. Junior Devon Brewer rejected three and has seven blocks in his last three games. Junior Alonzo Campbell knocked away a pair of blocks and also registered career-highs of nine points and five rebounds off the bench.
 
Alcorn entered the game leading the league in three-pointers made per game with 8.8, but had a cold night. The Braves went 2-for-15 (.133) from long distance.
 
USF (9-2), which extended its winning-streak to five games, was paced by Alexis Yetna who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Brown also scored 16 points.
 
The game was close early as a jumper by Andrews and a lay-up by sophomore Jael Scott had Alcorn down just 15-14 at the 10:50 mark of the first half. It wasn't until a 12-0 run by the Bulls near the end of the half created separation. USF led 46-23 at the intermission.
 
The Bulls opened the second half strong with a 7-0 spurt to change the score to 53-23 with 16:24 remaining. USF's largest lead was 81-38 with 4:17 to go.
 
The Braves will have a couple weeks off before beginning conference play. They will host defending SWAC Tournament champion Texas Southern on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader. The men will play after the women kick it off at 3 p.m.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn wrapped-up a grueling non-conference scheduled which included trips to Tulsa, Vanderbilt, Kent State, Liberty, Mississippi State, UAB and USF.
 
- With eight blocks, the Braves topped their previous season-high of five against Rust College.
 
- Andrews netted his eighth double-figure scoring game and third in the last four outings. He's pulled down at least five rebounds in six of the last seven matches.
 
- Campbell, a seven-footer, notched his best performance as a Brave. His nine points and five rebounds topped his previous bests of six points and three rebounds in the season-opener at Tulsa. Campbell missed seven games due to injury.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"We're getting good shots, they're just not falling. Our guys are in there working at practice and shoot around, and making shots. We've been getting wide-open shots these last couple games, and guys that typically make those shots just couldn't make them. Tonight, we turned the ball over too much and USF made the shots when they were open and we didn't. There's no excuse for it and it's on all of us, coaches and players. We are a better team than what we've showed the last two games."

On Alonzo Campbell
"He's coming along. We needed him tonight because of injuries to other guys. It was encouraging to see him play 27 minutes and getting back into gameplay. I would have liked to see him get more points and more rebounds, but nine points and five rebounds is not a bad night."
 
On how he feels about the team heading into conference
"We will make a few changes, but when we go back to the drawing board we have to make sure that we're buckling down defensively. We're a good shooting team and I really think the shots will start to fall. We will go home and re-assess and re-evaluate what we're doing and try to improve. We're going to be heading into a new season with conference play."
 
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