Alcorn Grinds Out Overtime Win over MVSU

LORMAN, Miss. – In a game that featured 10 ties and eight lead changes, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program made enough plays down the stretch and in overtime to beat Mississippi Valley State 92-88 on Saturday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
 
Alcorn (11-12, 7-5 SWAC) trailed by two at the end of regulation when senior Maurice Howard drove through the paint and converted a lay-up to tie it 79-79 with 17 seconds left. MVSU (2-22, 2-10 SWAC) put up a jumper with two seconds left that was off the mark to send it to overtime.
 
In the extra period, the game was tied 84-84 when junior Troymain Crosby pulled down a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast to give Alcorn a slight 86-84 edge with 1:10 left. Alcorn then got a stop defensively, and Crosby made two free throws in a 1-and-1 situation to go up 88-84. He scored seven points in overtime

MVSU scored a pair of baskets with under 30 seconds left when it trailed by four each time, but senior Maurice Howard made all of his free throws to keep it a two possession game.
 
Free throw shooting was the difference in the match. The Braves were 20-for-23 (.870) in the game, while the Delta Devils were 2-for-11 (.182).
 
Crosby turned in a big night of 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for a double-double. He was 10-for-11 from the free throw line.
 
Howard registered 19 points and six rebounds, and senior Corey Tillery hit five threes to end with 17 points. Also in double-figures was senior Deshaw Andrews with 13 points and eight rebounds. Junior Kobe Wilson registered eight rebounds and four blocks.
 
The Delta Devils were on fire from three in the first half and went 9-for-18 (.500). They made 7 of their first 11 threes. Torico Simmons was 6-for-9 from long range in the game and netted 22 points.
 
Alcorn led 13-11 early when Crosby made three straight free throws and Wilson nailed a jumper to go up 18-11 at the 13:16 mark. Though, MVSU used the three-point line to get back in it. The Delta Devils tied it 26-26 on a three by Quinton Alston with 8:21 to go.
 
MVSU grabbed a 29-28 lead on a three by Caleb Hunter with 7:23 to go. The Delta Devils kept firing away, and a three by Ahmadu Sarnor extended it to 37-30 with 5:28 remaining.
 
Alcorn finished the half on a 6-0 run. It included a jumper by Crosby, two free throws by Howard and a bucket by freshman Dominic Brewton to tie it 39-39 at the intermission.
 
The Braves fell behind early in the second half as Hunter hit another three to change the score to 48-41 at the 17:13 mark. MVSU's biggest lead 56-47 came on a lay-up by Gebreal Samaha with 12:49 left.
 
Alcorn stormed back with an 11-0 run. It was started by a three by junior Arne Morris, and was capped by a three by Tillery to put the Braves up 61-58 with 8:29 to go. A jumper by Crosby kept the Braves ahead 77-71 at the 4:20 mark.
 
MVSU evened it by forcing turnovers and turning them into lay-ups to go on a 6-0 run to again tie it 77-77 with 1:39 remaining. After a missed jumper by Alcorn, the Delta Devils took the lead on a lay-up by Alston with 43 seconds left.
 
Alcorn tied it on Howard's drive as he dashed through the lane and laid it in with 17 seconds left.
 
In overtime, the game was tied 84-84 when Crosby grabbed a rebound and went the entire court on the fast break to score on a lay-up with 1:10 left. The Braves made their final seven free throws in the game to stay ahead in the end.
 
Up next, the Braves will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Alcorn is 43-24 all-time against UAPB and 7-2 under head coach Montez Robinson. The Braves won the first meeting this year 80-71 on the road.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn completed the season sweep over MVSU and improved to 70-38 in the all-time series and 9-3 under Robinson.
 
- The Braves have won 10 of the last 11, and 14 of the last 16 home games. They've outscored the opposition 799-599 at home this year.
 
- Robinson is 46-38 in his career against the SWAC. He's in his fifth season.
 
- Crosby registered his fifth career double-double and second this year. It was his eighth career 20-plus scoring game and fifth this season. It was also his 42nd career double-digit scoring game and 15th this year. His 13 rebounds surpassed his previous career-high of 11 set three times. Crosby dished out five assists, which tied his season-high.
 
- Howard etched his 60th career double-figure scoring game and 16th this year. He's up to 1,274 career points.
 
- Tillery notched his 17th double-digit scoring game of the season. It was the fifth time that he's made at least five threes in a game. He was 5-for-11 from beyond-the-arc. Tillery has already made 68 threes, which is sixth all-time in the Alcorn single-season record book.
 
- Andrews totaled his 28th career double-figure scoring game and 16th this year. He was 3-for-6 from long distance.
 
- Wilson entered the game ranked fourth in the SWAC in blocks with 1.0 per game. That average will go up after he rejected four shots in the game.
 
- Alcorn's seven blocks were a team-high this year. In addition to Wilson's four, junior Anthony Fairley swatted three.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"Our team showed a lot of resiliency. I thought we were in their face, but they made 16 threes. Most of those were contested threes and deep. We were all over them and I give our guys credit for fighting through that situation. Anytime a team makes 16 threes it's hard to overcome that, and we made 10 and we needed all 10 of those. Tonight was a team effort for us and everyone contributed. Troymain made some big throws and we gutted it out."
 
On Crosby returning after missing the last game due to injury
"He was a game-time decision and had been getting treatment all day. He was in the training both before and after shoot-around. I give a lot of credit to the training staff for getting him back. We needed him tonight and he did a great job of getting to the glass. He also got a lot of tough rebounds. He's a tough kid and wanted to win."
 
On what MVSU was doing offensively that gave Alcorn trouble
"They were shooting it from all over. MVSU had nine threes in the first half. They're a team that gets shots up quickly and tries to speed up the game to get a lot of possessions. We didn't help ourselves out by giving up offensive rebounds and second chance attempts. I think their game plan was to shoot a lot of threes and to get them up fast. We were switching 1-through-5 defensively and I thought we did a good job of contesting them, but we have to do better."
 
On what the game plan will be for UAPB
"It will be business as usual on Sunday. We'll be going over the scout, watching film and making the adjustments that we need to make. We'll get some individual work in and our guys will get the necessary treatment."
 
Quoting senior Maurice Howard
Opening Statement
"Without a doubt, we needed this win tonight. We did everything we could, and even if it was in overtime we needed the win. Coach always emphasizes rebounding and getting to the free throw line. That was the game plan tonight, and we won the rebounding battle and made free throws."
 
On MVSU knocking down threes
"Well, No. 3 always hits threes against us, but it was their entire team tonight. We needed to make the proper adjustments and get stops at the right times."
 
On his individual performance
"The last few games I've been kind of struggling, so I wanted to get back on a good note. I felt I did that tonight and the team got the win. The last few games I felt we got out-worked and teams played harder than we did. Tonight, we showed a lot of heart and pulled out the win."
 
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