Alcorn Posts Highest Scoring Total in 21 Years in Win over Paul Quinn

LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University men's basketball cruised to a 111-59 victory over Paul Quinn on Tuesday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
The 111 points were the most since the 1998-99 season when Alcorn (1-2) defeated Prairie View A&M 114-61.  
 
Senior Maurice Howard became the 40th student-athlete in school history to join the 1,000-point scoring club. He needed 12 points coming in, and finished with 17. He was five-for-nine from long range and also dished out six assists.
 


Howard was one of five student-athletes to square in double-figures against PQ (0-2). Junior Troymain Crosby netted a game-high 20 points, while senior Corey Tillery poured in 17 points.
 
Junior Kobe Wilson registered his first career double-double with career-highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Deshaw Andrews scored 12 points and has reached double-figures in every game this season.
 
As a team, the Braves shot .562 (41-73) from the field and .459 (17-37) from beyond-the-arc. They outrebounded the Tigers 41-29.
 
PQ was led by D'Angelo Streeter's 19 points. Mateo Escheik ended with 16 points. Spencer McElway neared a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
Alcorn never trailed in the match.
 
The Braves broke the game open early. Lead 5-4, a lay-up by Crosby sparked a 13-0 run, capped by a jumper by Wilson to make it 18-4 at the 14:30 mark. A lay-up by junior Anthony Fairley kept it at a 36-22 margin with 6:48 remaining.
 
Alcorn scored the final six points of the half to close it out strong. It came on two free throws and a lay-up by freshman Dekedran Thorn, and a last-second lay-up by junior Isaiah Attles to put the Braves up 51-30.
 
Still leading 60-39, a pair of three-pointers by Howard and a lay-up by Wilson increased the advantage to 68-39 with 14:36 to go in the second half. Alcorn used a 7-0 spurt, which included a three by Attles, to catapult ahead 77-41 with 11:34 left.
 
The Braves kept their foot on the pedal the whole way. Their largest lead of the game, 111-57, came on a three-pointer by junior Arne Morris in the final minute.
 
The Braves will hit the road this weekend when they travel to 13th-ranked Memphis for a 1 p.m. tip Saturday.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn is now 4-0 all-time against Paul Quinn. The last meeting came in 2006-07 when the Braves won 98-83.
 
- The Braves improved to 144-6 all-time when they score at least 100 points in a game. They did it twice last year by defeating Rust College 103-66 and Champion Christian 109-45.
 
- With 1,005 career points, Howard ranks 40th all-time in school history. He's seven points away from catching Joe Jenkins, who scored 1,012 from 1976-80. Howard also moved up to No. 7 all-time in career assists with 244. He surpassed Aaron Brandon who totaled 243 from 1981-85.
 
- Alcorn has outrebounded every opponent it's played this year. The team now carries a +6.3 rebounding margin per game.
 
- The Braves have outscored every opponent this year in the second half. The second half score tonight was 60-29.
 
- Alcorn extended its home winning-streak to three games, which carried over from last season. The Braves have won seven of their last eight home games.
 
- The Braves improved to 14-0 against non-Division I opponents under head coach Montez Robinson, who is in his fifth season at the helm.
 
- Crosby notched his fourth career 20-plus scoring game, and his 29th career double-digit scoring outing. He was two points away from his career-high of 22 set against Rust College last season.
 
- Wilson's 14 points and 12 rebounds upped his career-highs from 10 points against Rust College and 11 rebounds against Blue Mountain last year. He's the fourth Brave on the current roster to turn in a double-double in his career along with Andrews, Crosby and senior Devon Brewer. It was his fourth career double-figure rebounding game.
 
- Andrews is the only student-athlete to score in double-figures in every game this year. It marked his 15th career double-digit outing.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"I was just really excited to see the ball going in for us. We've struggled in making shots in the first two games, and our guys felt good about seeing the ball go in the net so many times tonight. Our guys have been putting in the work every day since the summer, and this is a team full of gym rats. The first couple games were unsatisfying for all of us, but these guys keep working and it was good to see it tonight at home."
 
On Maurice Howard surpassing 1,000 career points
"It's a testament to the work he's put in. It's really a blessing to see him get it so early in his senior year. He's done so much for the program. He came in and saw us at our peak as a freshman, and then worked through the team's struggles as a sophomore and junior. He's a big part of what we do and wants to help us get deep into the conference tournament like we did his first year. He shows the young guys how to get in here and work. There's not a shot in the gym that he doesn't think he can make because he works at it every day."
 
On the center situation with Brewer and Campbell
"We're a little bit beat up at that position actually. Campbell hurt his back, but tried to come out and play here tonight. I was going to hold him out, but he wanted to feel out the game and play. Anthony Fairley is another guy we're using at that spot, and it was good to get him out there and play a lot of minutes tonight. Brewer will be fine. It's actually hard for him sometimes when he's not battling against another guy that's 6-9 or 6-10. We'll be fine at that position."
 
On Kobe Wilson's double-double
"He's been playing well. We've challenged him to really play defense and rebound, and if he has an open look he needs to have enough confidence to knock it down. He's another guy who put in a lot of work over the summer and is playing with a lot more confidence. He works on both ends at practice with the guards and the forwards, and we want to use him at multiple spots."
 
On his thoughts on the team after three games
"We just have to finish out plays – finish out defensive possessions and execute on the offensive end. I've been really pleased with how the guys have been taking coaching so far and want to continue to grow and get better."

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