Alcorn Drubs Rust 108-62

LORMAN, Miss. – A balanced scoring attack was on tap for the Alcorn State University men's basketball program as it overwhelmed Rust 108-62 Monday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Six student-athletes scored in double-figures for Alcorn (3-5), led by senior Maurice Howard's 19 points and six assists. Seniors Deshaw Andrews and Corey Tillery scored 13 apiece, and senior Alonzo Campbell and junior Troymain Crosby each netted 12. Junior Mark Carter came off the bench to score 11 points.
 
The Braves extended their home winning-streak to five games and have won nine of the last 10 at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Rust shot the ball well in the first half to keep the game within striking distance and trailed 52-43. Though, it was a dominant performance by the Braves in the second half as they outscored the Bearcats 56-19.
 
Alcorn finished 40-for-69 (.580) from the field, including 22-for-34 (.647) in the second half. The three-point shot was what kept Rust in it early as it made 6-of-13 (.462) in the first half, but just 1-of-15 (.067) in the second.
 
The Braves held a big 45-27 edge on the glass. Senior Devon Brewer pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Alcorn also carried a decisive 52-20 edge in points in the paint.
 
The Bearcats were paced by Michael Decembre's 19 points, and 13 came in the first half. He also recorded five rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes.
 
Alcorn came out of the gates hot and scored the first 12 points of the game. It included threes by Crosby and Tillery.
 
The Braves were still up 16-2 when the Bearcats clawed back in it. They trimmed the deficit to 20-12 after a three by Decembre with 14:46 left, and were down just 24-19 with 13:22 to go after a three by DeMarcus Robinson. Rust came all the way back to trail 32-31 after a long-range shot by Quentin Pough with 6:46 remaining.
 
Alcorn finished the first half strong. A dunk by junior Mark Carter and a three by junior Arne Morris pushed the lead back up to 45-38 with 4:12 left. Andrews drilled a three in the final minute to extend it to 52-43 at the break.
 
The Braves took total control early in the second and opened with a 9-0 run after a jumper by Brewer. A fast-break lay-up by Howard made it a 72-52 game at the 12:43 mark.
 
Over the next seven minutes, Alcorn went on a 24-4 spurt to put the game out of reach and catapult in front 96-56 with 5:44 remaining. The Braves did more damage late as Howard drained a pair of threes in the last minute.
 
The Braves will look to keep rolling next Monday when it travels to Tulane for a 7 p.m. game on ESPN3.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn improved to 6-0 all-time against Rust. The two teams will meet for the fourth consecutive year. Last season, the Braves won 103-66.
 
- Alcorn is now 16-0 against non-Division I opponents under head coach Montez Robinson.
 
- The Braves improved to 145-6 all-time when they score at least 100 points in a game. They did it for the second time this year after defeating Paul Quinn 111-59 in their home-opener.
 
- Alcorn has outscored the opposition 311-177 in three home games this year. It's an average score of 104-59.
 
- The Braves have outscored the opposition 308-265 in the second half this year, which includes all games.
 
- Alcorn entered the game leading the league in threes made per game (8.7) and will improve its mark after going 11-for-28 (.393).
 
- With six assists in the game, moved up to No. 6 all-time in school history with 253 assists. He surpassed Jeff Cammon's mark of 252 from 1999-03. Howard tallied his 48th career double-figure scoring game. His 19 points were a season-high.
 
- Andrews entered the game ranked second in the SWAC in free throw percentage (.864) and was a perfect 4-for-4 tonight. He etched his 18th career double-digit scoring game and sixth this season.
 
- Crosby submitted his 33rd career double-figure scoring game and sixth this year. He was 4-for-7 from the field and nailed a pair of threes.
 
- Tillery reached double-figures for the fifth time this year for the third time in four games. He was 4-of-8 shooting and poured in a trio of long-range shots.
 
- Campbell's 12 points matched his career-high, set last season against Alabama A&M at home. All 12 of his points tonight game in the second half. He was 5-for-7 from the field and also grabbed five rebounds.
 
- In just his fourth appearance this year, Carter set his career-high with 11 points. He was 4-of-5 from the field also grabbed five rebounds.
 
- Alcorn's team shooting percentage of .580 marked a season-high.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"We had an early run, but then we started giving up straight line drives and Rust came back. They were driving right through us, kicking it out, getting to the foul line and were doing damage in the first half. They were driving and making free throws. We have to do better of not fouling and staying straight up. We need to make their guards take tougher shots and not lay-ups. We did a much better in the second half of making it tough for them and keeping them out of the paint."
 
On Alonzo Campbell's big second half
"He started seeing the ball go in, and that gave him a lot of confidence. People look at him as a seven-footer and say he should be scoring, but he's getting pushed and hacked like every other big man. I think after he saw the ball go in a few times, he started to feel good and I was really pleased with him. He doesn't need big dunks, he just needs to get in good position and make them when we throw it in to him or get to the free throw line."
 
On scoring 43 points off the bench
"I was really happy with that. We wanted to get a lot of guys out there playing tonight and we're going to be depending on a lot of guys throughout the season. Every minute, every second is valuable time, and we need our guys to continue to get better on the floor. Some of our guys made exciting plays tonight and we were able to execute plays in the second half."
 
#FearTheBrave