Early Second Half Surge Lifts PVAMU over Alcorn

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Prairie View A&M used a 16-0 run early in the second half to pull away from the Alcorn State University men's basketball program in an 86-66 decision Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the SWAC Championships at the William J. Nicks Building.
 
After a very tight first half, the eighth-seeded Braves (10-21, 6-12 SWAC) were down just 42-38 with 17:31 left in the second when the top-seeded Panthers (20-12, 17-1 SWAC) broke it open with the 16-0 spurt. Turnovers, missed shots and an intentional foul contributed to the run.
 
Junior Maurice Howard netted a team-high 21 points. He was 4-for-7 from three-point range and also recorded five rebounds and four assists. Howard played all 40 minutes.
 
In his final career appearance, senior Reginal Johnson notched 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
PVAMU was paced by Devonte Patterson's 25 points. Dennis Jones, Chancellor Ellis and Taishaun Johnson scored 11 apiece.
 
Alcorn trailed 13-7 early when an old-fashion three-point play by Andrews sparked an 8-2 run, as a lay-up by junior Devon Brewer tied it 15-15 at the 13:43 mark. The Braves took the lead 20-18 on a drive by senior Khari Jabriel Allen with 12:14 left.
 
Still up 22-20, the Panthers responded with an 8-0 run which included a pair of three-point plays to regain a 28-22 edge with 7:32 remaining.
 
Alcorn was down 34-26 when Andrews buried a three-pointer and followed it up with an inside bucket to cut the deficit to 34-31 with 4:24 to go. The Braves got a stop defensively on the final possession of the half and trailed 38-35 at the break.
 
PVAMU took advantage of a slow start by the Braves in the second half. The Panthers scored the first two buckets of the period off turnovers, and went on their 16-0 run to extend it to 58-38 at the 13:03 mark.
 
The next 10 minutes were even, but Alcorn couldn't find the run it needed to get back in it. A put-back by Johnson had Alcorn down 72-53 with 3:44 left.
 
The game featured four ties and three lead changes, all in the first half.
 
NOTES
- In 124 career games, Johnson posted 1,361 points and 538 rebounds. He finished 21st all-time in school history in scoring. Johnson turned in 71 career double-figure scoring games and 16 this season.
 
- Howard will enter next season just 27 points away from 1,000 in his career. He notched his 44th career double-figure scoring game and 22nd this year. It was also his ninth career 20-plus scoring night and sixth this year. Howard logged 40 minutes for the 12th time in his career and 11th time this season.
 
- Howard finished the year with a school record 95 three-pointers made. He shot .406 from long-range which ranks second in the single-season Alcorn record book, only behind Brian Jackson's mark of .414 in 2001-02. Howard led the league in three-point percentage and three-pointers made per game.
 
- The Braves entered the game ranked second in the SWAC in assists (12.7 apg) and dished out 11. In addition to Howard's four, sophomore Troymain Crosby distributed three.
 
- PVAMU came one conference win short of going undefeated this year. 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.
 
- Alcorn's all-time record is 1176-1010 dating back to 1945-46.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"The guys came out strong and executed the game plan early-on. There were a couple plays in the first half that I wish we could have had back, because instead of being up at the half we were down. I thought we could have easily been leading at the half. Then, we came out in the second half and turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions to start it out, and Prairie View went on a run. If we could have had a better start to the half we could have kept the momentum going. We just couldn't get it going after we fell behind."
 
On what the message was to the team coming into the game
"We had a great day of practice yesterday, and a great shoot-around this morning. Everything was positive and upbeat. I felt pretty good about our chances of playing a good ball-game tonight. We never second-guessed ourselves, and that's why we started so well. The guys felt good about the game plan coming in."
 
On what was said at halftime when the team was only down by three
"We didn't want to change a whole lot. We challenged our players but we felt we did a lot of good things in the first half. We wanted to keep Prairie View off the offensive glass, and to slow them down in transition. The turnovers really stabbed us in the second half and that's where the game was lost."
 
On what he liked most from his team tonight
"The team never quit. They showed a lot of fight and never gave up. We'll remember what this loss feels like moving forward. We have guys on our roster that have been to the championship game just two years ago. Sometimes you have to hate losing more than you like winning. This is a group of guys that really have a bad taste in their mouths right now and we'll use this to be better in the future."
 
Quoting junior Maurice Howard
On his thoughts on the game
"We started well. We were being aggressive and had it going in the first half. In the second half, as coach said, we had two quick turnovers which really hurt us. We knew it was going to be tough coming in playing on the road, so we didn't want to hand them anything. They went on their big run and we weren't able to break back into their lead."
 
On what positives he'll take into next season
"We have a lot of guys coming back and we have to learn from this. Tonight was like our whole season where we had a lot of ups-and-downs. I believe in the guys we have on the roster and we'll come back stronger next year."
 
Quoting senior Reginal Johnson
On what he'll remember most about his time as an Alcorn student-athlete
"The culture. It's a loving, giving environment. Everyone I've ever come across at Alcorn has been great – from the staff to the students. I'll always remember the atmosphere and how people are so welcoming. Alcorn is like a big family and I'll always cherish that."
 
On what advice he'd give to the younger guys on the team
"Always play hard and always be prepared. Nothing good ever comes from being unprepared. Just play hard and work hard, especially during the offseason. The work you put in during the offseason pays off during the season."
 
#FearTheBrave