Men's Basketball | 3/11/2019 3:28:00 PM

Alcorn Rematches PVAMU in Quarterfinals of SWAC Championships

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PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – In a rematch of both the regular season finale and last year's SWAC Championships, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program will look to knock off top-seeded Prairie View A&M in the quarterfinals Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the William J. Nicks Building.
 
The eighth-seeded Braves (10-12, 6-12 SWAC) will look to avenge an 87-71 defeat at PVAMU (19-12, 17-1 SWAC) last year in the quarterfinals. That game featured a No. 2 vs. 7 match-up.
 
This year, the Panthers squeaked by the Braves 57-54 in the first meeting at the Davey L. Whitney Complex on Jan. 7. Though, just two days ago, PVAMU shook off Alcorn in the second half for a 98-64 final.
 
PVAMU came one conference win short of going undefeated. The last time any team in the SWAC went undefeated in conference was the 1979-80 Braves. Alcorn advanced to the NCAA Tournament that season where the eighth-seeded Braves defeated ninth-seeded South Alabama in the first round 70-62. Alcorn fell in the Round of 32 to No. 1 LSU 98-88, but became the first HBCU to ever win an NCAA Tournament game.
 
Not only is Alcorn going for its first road win of the year, but the Braves will also look to hand the Panthers their first home loss. PVAMU holds a 10-0 home record.
 
After four seasons of conference play, Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson carries a 39-33 SWAC record and was the 2016-17 SWAC Coach of the Year.
 
Alcorn ranks second in the SWAC in assists (12.7 apg). Junior Maurice Howard has dished out a team-high 104 assists.
 
Howard is the league's top three-point shooter. He ranks first in both three-point percentage (.401) and three-pointers made per game (3.0). He's already broken his own single-season school record in three-pointers made in a season with 91. It topped the 74 he made last year. Howard had the third longest active streak in the nation of making at least one three-pointer in a game. He did it for 39 straight games, but ended it at MVSU on Feb. 16, 2019.
 
Howard logs 36.3 minutes per game - also most in the league - and has played 40 minutes 10 times. He averages a team-high 13.5 points per outing and is 38-for-42 (.905) from the free throw line. 
 
Sophomore Troymain Crosby is averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds per outing. Junior Devon Brewer ranks third in blocks with 1.2 per contest.
 
Senior Reginal Johnson has been playing strong down the stretch after sitting out for nearly 12 months. He's currently averaging 10.7 points per game on the year. A 1,300-point scorer, Johnson has scored in double-figures in five of the last six games.
 
The Braves are 7-0 (3-0 SWAC) this season when they outscore the opposition in points in the paint.
 
With a win Tuesday, Alcorn would advance to Birmingham, Alabama to play in the semifinals. The Braves would play at 2:30 p.m. Friday against either No. 4 Grambling State or No. 5 Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The finals will tip at 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU.
 
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