Braves Register 90-75 Victory on Senior Day over TSU

LORMAN, Miss. – In what was the final home game for six seniors at the Davey L. Whitney Complex, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program defeated Texas Southern 90-75 Saturday on Senior Day.
 
Fifth-seeded Alcorn (15-14, 11-7 SWAC) will travel to fourth-seeded Jackson State (14-17, 11-7 SWAC) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the first round of the 2020 SWAC Championships.
 
The Braves were in control of the Tigers (15-16, 12-6 SWAC) for nearly the entire way. TSU led for just 4:19 in the game.
 
Junior Troymain Crosby paced the offense with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
Freshman Dominic Brewton tallied his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Senior Corey Tillery also reached double-figures with 15 points.
 
TSU garnered a big performance from Eden Ewing who finished with 24 points and seven rebounds. Ja'Mare Redus ended with 20 points.
 
The Braves shot .500 (34-68) from the field and .400 (8-20) from long range. They committed just eight turnovers.
 
Alcorn trailed 10-5 early when a jumper by Crosby and a lay-up by junior Kobe Wilson cut the deficit to 10-9 at the 15:00 mark. The Braves took the lead 16-14 on a jumper just outside the paint by senior Maurice Howard with 10:58 remaining.
 
Alcorn never trailed again.
 
Three-pointers by Tillery and Howard extended the edge to 27-21 with 7:28 to go. A pair of free throws by junior Arne Morris put the Braves up 36-27 with 3:54 left. Two more free throws by Morris made it 38-27, and Alcorn carried a 45-36 advantage into the break.
 
Crosby knocked down a three-pointer early in the second half to make it a 54-41 game. TSU answered with a 7-0 run to get it down to 54-48 at the 15:46 mark.
 
A pair of free throws by Morris got the lead back up to double-figures 67-57 with 10:26 remaining. Though, the Tigers made a push to trim it to 72-68 with 7:19 left.
 
TSU never got within a one possession game.
 
A pair of field goals by Crosby quickly got the margin back up to 76-68 with 6:15 to go. Alcorn pulled away in the final two minutes, knocked down free throws and ended the game on a 7-0 run to win by 15.
 
The Braves finished 11-2 at home this year where they outscored the opposition 1,006-868.
 
NOTES
- Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson completed his fifth conference season and holds a 50-40 career SWAC record.
 
- The Braves completed their fourth season-sweep of the year by beating TSU, Alabama State, Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff twice. The only game TSU lost at home all year was to Alcorn.
 
- Alcorn swept the season series over TSU for the first time since 2005-06.
 
- Brewton became the seventh different student-athlete on Alcorn's roster to submit a double-double in his career along with Howard, senior Deshaw Andrews, Tillery, Crosby, Wilson and senior Devon Brewer. Brewton notched his fourth double-figure scoring game of the year. His 10 rebounds upped his career-high from eight at Grambling State.
 
- Crosby tallied his 46th career double-figure scoring game and 19th this year. It was also his ninth 20-plus performance and sixth this year. He was 4-for-4 at the line to increase his free throw percentage to .846. His nine field goals made were a career-high.
 
- Tillery has made 86 threes this year, the second-most in Alcorn single-season history. He's chasing Howard's mark of 95 made last season. Tillery poured in his 21st double-figure scoring game of the year.
 
- Before the game, Alcorn honored six seniors: Edrick Alsworth, Alonzo Campbell, Andrews, Brewer, Howard and Tillery.
 
Quoting Alcorn head coach Montez Robinson
Opening Statement
"I'm really proud of the guys for sticking to the game plan. Coach Derek Thompson did a really good job with the scout tonight. We wanted to take care of business at home and we did what we set out to do in these last two games. I was happy with the effort, and with what Dominic Brewton was able to do tonight. He shot 7-for-8 from the floor and didn't miss a free throw or a three, and had 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals – what a stat line for a freshman. Troymain Crosby came out and had a great second half. And the seniors, with what they were able to do. Deshaw Andrews was very aggressive in the post, Corey Tillery with 15 points and Maurice Howard almost had a double-double. The seniors led the team tonight and I was really pleased with those guys."
 
On the development of Dominic Brewton
"It sometimes takes a while for a freshman, but we're starting to see how effective he can be. He was attacking in transition and hit his spots. He's had some big games for us and we know what he's capable of."
 
On Troymain Crosby in the second half
"He only played about four minutes in the first half, and we told him at halftime that we were going to need him to be aggressive. He was able to knock down some shots and I was happy with what he was able to do."
 
On the defense
"We rebounded and only gave up eight second-chance opportunities. To keep them off the glass and win the rebounding war was big, considering TSU is one of the best rebounding teams in the league."

On the seniors
"The seniors came out ready to play. They didn't want to be denied on their senior day and I'm really proud of all those guys. It's been a rollercoaster the last two seasons, but they wanted to leave here with a winning season and get us back up. This season has been about them and they put together a winning campaign."
 
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