Braves Knock Off Southern 89-85

LORMAN, Miss. – Extending its home winning-streak to five games, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program posted an 89-85 victory over Southern on Saturday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Alcorn (11-18, 7-9 SWAC) ended Southern's (14-15, 10-6 SWAC) five-game winning-streak. The Jags had won nine of their last 10 entering the game.
 
Senior A.J. Mosby, the reigning SWAC Player of the Week winner, poured in a game-high 24 points to go along with his five assists and four rebounds. Junior Dante Sterling also had a big night with 22 points.
 
Off the bench, freshman Troymain Crosby registered a career-high 17 points and also secured six rebounds.
 
The Braves were 29-of-35 (.829) from the free throw line. The 29 makes were a season-high.
 
The Jaguars were led by Jared Sam who recorded 23 points and seven rebounds. Eddie Reese and Jamar Sandifer scored 19 points apiece.
 
The Braves (10-18, 6-9 SWAC) have won three of their last four games. The Jags (14-14, 10-5 SWAC) have won five in a row and nine of their last 10.
 
Alcorn led 12-8 early when it went on an 8-0 run to jump in front 20-10 after a dunk by Crosby. The Jags got back in it with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 24-21 halfway through the first half.
 
The Braves were ahead 35-30 when they used a 6-0 spurt which included free throws from sophomore Maurice Howard and Crosby to extend their edge to 41-30 at the 1:36 mark. Reese hit a late three-pointer for SU, but Alcorn was in front 44-35 at the intermission.
 
Alcorn was still up by nine with 14:47 remaining, but that's when Southern started to chip away. An 11-2 spurt saw the Jaguars come back to tie it 62-62 with 10:30 to go.
 
The Braves quickly answered with a three-pointer by Mosby and an old-fashion three-point play by sophomore Tyler Carter to regain a 68-62 advantage with 9:07 left.
 
SU didn't go away, and a 5-0 run made it a 68-67 Alcorn score with 5:57 remaining. Though, the Braves played the closing minutes strong and made their free throws down the stretch to secure the win. A three-pointer by Sterling put Alcorn in front 80-72 at the 1:13 mark.
 
Alcorn never trailed in the second half.
 
The Braves will have Monday off from competition. They'll stay at home next weekend to close out the regular season beginning Thursday with a 7 p.m. game against Prairie View A&M.
 
NOTES
- The Braves and the Jaguars split the season series. Alcorn has won four of the last five including an 81-59 victory in the semifinals of the 2017 SWAC Championships.
 
- Alcorn improved to 9-3 at home this year and 20-5 over the last two seasons.
 
- In his third season, Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson hoists a 33-19 SWAC record. He's the reigning SWAC Coach of the Year winner.
 
- Alcorn remained undefeated this year when it scores at least 80 points in a game.
 
- Mosby scored at least 18 points for the sixth straight game. It was his 40th double-figure scoring game of his career and 24th this year. It was also the sixth time this season that he scored at least 20. Mosby was 7-for-12 from the field, 3-for-5 from long-range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
 
- Sterling netted his 17th double-digit scoring performance of the year and fourth of at least 20 points. He was 7-for-13 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. His seven made field goals matched a career-high set against Mississippi Valley State at home.
 
- Crosby surpassed his previous career-high of 14 points set at Central Arkansas on Nov. 19, 2017. He turned in his eighth double-figure scoring game of the year after going 7-for-13 from the field.
 
- Crosby helped Alcorn outscore Southern 25-9 in points off the bench.
 
- The Braves continued to play without SWAC Preseason Player of the Year Reginal Johnson. He broke his leg at Tulane on Nov. 29 and has not played since. Alcorn was also without starting senior guard Avery Patterson due to a high ankle sprain.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"One of the biggest things we did tonight was we took care of the ball. Southern is a team that presses and puts a lot of pressure on the ball, but tonight we only had eight turnovers. We also rebounded the ball and got to the free throw line which were things we talked about before the game. The guys did a great job of attacking the basket and we made plays when we had to make them down the stretch. We made some big-time free throws in the end and that was a huge plus."
 
On not having any scoring droughts in the game
"We didn't have many letdowns offensively and we kept attacking. We stayed aggressive and kept moving the ball. I'm grateful that our guys stepped up and we didn't go through any lulls."
 
On trying to stop Southern's Jared Sam
"It was a team effort from our post guys. We needed all of our forwards – Kobe, Devon, Yalen, Tyler and TyQuaylon. I told them in the pre-game that there's only one of him, but five of us. So I should be able to rotate my guys in and he should get tired long before we do. As the game started to go along, we saw him miss some free throws which is rare but I think it may have been due to us being able to keep fresh legs on him all night. He's a great player but our guys did a great job on him."
 
On making shots in the second half
"He hit some huge shots in the second half. You know, we had those same looks against Alabama State but we just couldn't make them. We just have to make teams pay when they give us opportunities and A.J. was able to do that tonight."
 
#FearTheBrave