Slow Start Too Much for Braves to Overcome against PVAMU

LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University men's basketball program fell behind early and just couldn't catch up as Prairie View A&M held on for a 79-69 decision Thursday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Alcorn (11-19, 7-10 SWAC) trailed by 15 at half when they came back to make it a six-point game, but PVAMU (14-17, 11-6 SWAC) played the final minutes strong to hold off the Braves.
 
As a result, Alcorn saw its five-game home winning-streak come to an end.
 
Senior A.J. Mosby led the Braves with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists. He turned in a big second half with 15 points.
 
Freshman Troymain Crosby submitted a solid 15 points, seven rebounds, a career-high five assists and three steals off the bench. Junior Dante Sterling also reached double-figures with 13 points.
 
All five of PVAMU's starters scored in double-digits. Troy Thompson was on fire with 20 points including five-of-nine from long-range. Dennis Jones scored 15, J.D. Wallace 14, Gary Blackston 13 and Zachary Hamilton 11.
 
The Braves started the game cold from the floor and the Panthers were able to jump out to a 13-4 lead at the 13:09 mark. A lay-up by sophomore Devon Brewer and free throw by Crosby cut it to 14-8, but PVAMU was able to push its lead back up to 20-9 with 6:30 left after a floater by Juan Hood.
 
Alcorn answered with an 8-0 run which included a three-pointer by Mosby and a pair of layups by sophomore Tyler Carter to make it a 20-17 game with 4:08 remaining. Though, PVAMU quickly scored the next nine points to regain control 29-17 with 1:54 to go.
 
The Panthers carried a 35-20 advantage into the intermission after a pair of three-pointers by Thompson.
 
The Braves trailed 47-31 early in the second half when they responded with a 6-0 spurt which included a pair of jumpers by Crosby to trim the deficit to 47-37 at the 14:57 mark. A lay-in by sophomore Yalen Reed made it a 53-45 deficit with 10:39 left.
 
Alcorn slowly chipped away, and a driving lay-up by Mosby cut it to 58-51 with 6:18 remaining. A strong take by Crosby made it 70-64 with 2:23 to go, but the Braves couldn't get any closer.
 
The Braves will wrap-up the regular season Saturday when they host Texas Southern at 5:30 p.m. on Senior Day. The program will honor its senior trio Mosby, Avery Patterson and James Stokes in a ceremony.
 
Alcorn will play a road game Tuesday for its first round match in the 2018 SWAC Championships. The Braves are locked into the No. 7 seed, but their opponent is still to be determined.
 
NOTES
- The Braves are now 9-4 at home this year and 20-6 over the last two seasons.
 
- Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson, who is in his third season, is now 33-20 in the SWAC. He's the reigning SWAC Coach of the Year winner.
 
- The Braves entered the game leading the league in assists per game with 12.8 and will improve upon their tally after dishing out 17.
 
- Mosby has scored at least 17 points in each of the last eight games. He was 7-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-5 from beyond-the-arc. He registered his 41st career double-figure scoring game and 25th this season. Mosby is up to 794 career points in two seasons.
 
- Crosby, who was coming off a career-high 17 points against Southern, followed it up with the second-best total of his career with 15. He was 6-for-12 from the field and played a career-high 33 minutes.
 
- Sterling etched his 18th double-figure scoring game and third in a row. He was a perfect five-for-five from the free throw line.
 
- Sophomore Maurice Howard matched his career-high with six rebounds and played a career-high 40 minutes. He scored seven points.
 
- Alcorn outrebounded PVAMU 34-30 and held a 20-6 edge 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 guard Patterson due to a high ankle sprain.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"We came out slow and just weren't ready to play. We missed a lot of lay-ups in the first half, were fumbling the ball and gave up way too many points off turnovers. We knew coming in that Prairie View scores a lot of points off turnovers and if we played solid and didn't turn it over then we'd win the game. Well, we gave up 21 points off turnovers and we lost by 10; most of those were in the first half. The turnovers in the first half was what decided this game."
 
On playing better in the second half
"We hung around. We had opportunities to come back but just weren't able to make championship plays tonight when we really needed to make them. As we wrap-up the regular season and go into the postseason, we have to make those plays and capitalize when we have our chances. At times, we are capable of being a championship team, but we still have too many letdowns."
 
On the defense
"Our guards have to get down and defend and not let the other team get all the way through to the paint. Our big guys didn't even have time to block shots because the blow-by was so fast too many times."
 
Closing Statement
"We just couldn't get over the hump tonight. We didn't make plays when we needed to, and their guards made game-winning championship plays. We made those same exact plays, and made those same exact shots against Southern in our last game and got stops. We thought there would be some carry-over into this game especially at home, but we were just out of sync tonight. It's frustrating when you see our team's potential but we couldn't get it done."
 
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