LORMAN, Miss. – In a game in which the Alcorn State University men's basketball program never trailed and led by double-figures for most of the second half, the Braves shot down Grambling State 87-69 Monday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
The Braves (6-9, 2-2 SWAC) shot 13-for-31 (.419) from long distance. They defeated a GSU (9-8, 3-1 SWAC) team that shot 27-for-53 (.509) from the field.
Senior
Maurice Howard stayed hot with a game-high 24 points. He neared a double-double with a season-high eight assists. Howard was 8-of-13 from the field, 4-of-7 from long-range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Howard was one of four Braves in double-figures. Senior
Deshaw Andrews netted 18 points. Junior
Troymain Crosby finished with 16 points and seven points, and senior
Corey Tillery registered 11 points and matched his career-high with eight rebounds.
The Tigers entered the night as the only remaining undefeated team in the conference. Cameron Christon submitted 17 points and nine rebounds.
Alcorn got off to a quick 8-0 lead after a pair of early threes by Andrews. After the Tigers responded with the next eight points to tie it 8-8, the Braves used a lay-up by freshman
Dominic Brewton and a three by Howard to go back in front 16-11 at the 12:51 mark.
A lay-up by Crosby kept Alcorn ahead 25-20 with 6:55 left. A three by Andrews on the team's final possession gave them a 39-31 cushion at the intermission.
The Braves were still ahead 44-36 when Crosby converted a fast-break lay-up, Tillery hit a three and Howard scored on a jumper to extend the edge to 51-36 with 16:15 to go. From that point on, Alcorn's lead never dipped below 12.
The Braves were ahead 58-46 when they went on an 8-0 spurt, capped by a pair of free throws by Crosby to make it a 66-46 game with 10:27 remaining. Alcorn's largest lead, 73-49, came on a three by Tillery at the 6:24 mark.
Alcorn kept it a 20-point game, 84-64, on a pair of free throws by Howard with 2:19 left.
The Braves will hit the road Saturday when the make the short trip north to Mississippi Valley State at 4 p.m. Saturday. Alcorn is 68-38 all-time against MVSU and 7-3 under head coach
Montez Robinson.
NOTES
- Alcorn has won seven of the last eight, and 11 of the last 13 home games at the Davey L. Whitney Complex. The Braves have outscored the opposition 585-393 at home this year.
- The Braves improved to 72-42 all-time against Grambling State.
- Robinson is now 41-35 in his career against the SWAC. He's in his fifth season.
- The Braves entered the game ranked top-10 in the nation in threes made per game (10.4) and were above average with 13.
- Alcorn has outscored the opposition 607-549 in the second half this year.
- With eight assists in the game, Howard moved up to fifth all-time in school history with 276 in his career. He surpassed Michael Phelps who dished out 269 from 1981-85.
- Howard notched his 55th career double-figure scoring game and 11th in a row. It was his 12th career 20-plus scoring performance and second this season.
- Crosby recorded his 37th career double-digit scoring game and 10th this year. In the two games this weekend, he averaged 19 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.
- Andrews etched his 22nd career double-figure scoring game and 10th this year. His 18 points were the second-most he's scored this season and a conference-high. Andrews matched his career-high with four three-points made.
- Tillery turned in his 11th double-digit game of the season. He was 3-of-7 from long-range.
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"After the game Saturday, we were preaching energy, effort and just bring it for an entire 40 minutes. I thought we came out and played from the tip, all the way to the final buzzer. The guys played the way they know they can play. We didn't get stagnant tonight on the offensive end. We rotated the ball and moved it around. We also did a great job of not pressing to get open looks and we let the offense work. Defensively, we were locked in. Coach [Tamarcio] Wilson did a great job scouting and I wish we would have defended that overload play on Saturday against Jackson State the way we did tonight. We watched film after Saturday and our guys did a great job of recognizing the plays within our zone. Grambling State is one of the biggest teams in our league and we also outrebounded them. Our guards did a great job of boxing out and we played small a lot and pushed it into transition. Just an overall great team effort."
On what changed from Saturday to tonight
"Our guys were locked in tonight. It was a tale of two completely different games. We had four starters in double-figures tonight, and it's tough for the opposition to key-in on four guys who can really score the ball. We just let the offense work for us tonight, and we were on the glass rebounding."
On how tonight felt a lot like the win over Texas Southern
"We did a lot of good things in both games. Troymain did a great job tonight of penetrating and then finding the open man. Deshaw did the same thing. When they aren't shooting it, they are driving, getting in the gaps and that forces the defense to collapse on them. Our offense is at its best when guys are penetrating, kicking it out and not forcing it. The biggest thing for us is just playing together. We don't really have that one-on-one, take-over-the-game type of player. We have to play team ball every night and play with consistency."
Final thoughts
"I'm very pleased with the effort. I thought the bench provided us with a lot of energy even from the guys who didn't get in a lot. It started yesterday in practice when our guys were very upbeat. We have to continue with that moving forward."
#FearTheBrave
