HOUSTON – Alcorn Men's Basketball looks to continue its two-game Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) winning streak this weekend as the
Landon Bussie led Braves travel to Texas Southern on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 5 p.m.
What: Game Sixteen
Who: Alcorn (5-10, 2-1 SWAC) at Texas Southern (4-13, 0-4 SWAC)
When: Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, at 5 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas – Health and Physical Education Arena (8,100)
Watch: TXSO YouTube
Listen: WPRL 91.7 FM (PXP – Charles Edmond)
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Stats: Click Here
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn Men's Basketball this year by following the Braves social media platforms. You can follow
@Alcorn_St_MBB on Instagram and
@BravesSports on Twitter.
SERIES VS. TEXAS SOUTHERN
Texas Southern leads the all-time series against Alcorn by a 65-57 advantage in the series that dates back to the 1968-69 season. Alcorn won the first-ever meeting between the two sides by a count of 91-79. The Tigers have won the previous three meetings in the series, including a hard-fought 87-62 decision in last season's SWAC Tournament title game in Birmingham, Alabama.
LAST TIME OUT BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES
The Alcorn men's state basketball team had a tough road to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship game. The Braves battled through close quarterfinal and semifinal contests to face Texas Southern in the big show at the Bartow Arena. Their quest to hold both the 2022 regular-season and tournament titles came up short as the Braves fell 87-62 against the Tigers.
"Somebody got to win, and somebody got to lose," said head coach
Landon Bussie. "I'm just happy to be in this opportunity, even to get the chance to compete in the NCAA tournament. My expectation is to be right back in this situation next year, and hopefully, we can get a better ending result."
Justin Thomas led the Braves offense for the second time during the tournament run. He went four-for-eight from the field in Saturday's contest, including one in three-point range, and added nine of 12 free throws for 19 points. He also had three steals and five rebounds. Due to his effort, the Indianapolis, Ind., native was named to the 2022 SWAC All-Tournament Team. Freshman guard
Byron Joshua put up an additional 13 points to round out the Braves' double-digit scoring. The New Orleans, La. native, was also credited with one steal, one block, and two rebounds. Braves forward
Lenell Henry led the team in rebounding. The 6-8 Chicago native brought down a team-high seven boards and paired it with nine points, one block, and one steal.
Alcorn saw its worse shooting of the week, landing only 28.3 percent (17 of 60) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (six of 18) from beyond the arc. The Braves saw some improvement from their quarterfinal competition against Prairie View at the line, making 22 of 32 (68.8 percent). Texas Southern hit 55.7 percent (34 of 61) of its shots from the floor with 44.4 percent (four of nine) accuracy in three-point range. The Tigers added 15 of 21 (71.4 percent) at the line to edge out the Braves. John Walker III scored 17 points, while Bryson Etienne and Joirdon Karl Nicholas led the team in rebounding with eight boards, each.
"We came in wanting to beat a physical team," Bussie said of the Tigers. "Texas Southern just wanted it more than us and were more physical than us. Coach Jones did a fantastic job getting these guys where they are, and they deserve to be in the NCAA tournament. But, I am excited and proud to see how my guys got out and fought and competed all season."
LAST TIME OUT FOR ALCORN
It was another
Keondre Montgomery masterclass, as Alcorn defeated visiting Alabama State, 92-76 in Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball action at the Davey L. Whitney Complex. For Alcorn the win was their second consecutive to end a three-game homestand.
Dekedran Thorn and
Keondre Montgomery netted three-pointers from the start to push Alcorn out to a quick 9-3 lead. But Alabama State's trio of Antonio Madlock, Christian McCray and Roland McCoy teamed up to put together a 7-0 Hornets run to give the visitors a 10-9 lead – all before the game's first media timeout.
Alcorn would answer with a
Devin Carter three-pointer minutes later, capping a 6-0 Braves run – added a
Byron Joshua three-pointer (one of his three in the contest), with the Purple and Gold leading 21-16 with 10:40 left in the half. With Alcorn leading 28-23, McCoy connected on his second long range shot of the half, followed by a layup from reserve guard Eric Coleman to knot the score at 28-all.
The Braves would reclaim the lead at 32-28 when
Dontrell McQuarter went baseline for a layup, combined with
Jeremiah Kendall's layup off a Hornets turnover. But McCoy would then find the shooting touch again for a three-pointer – as he finished with four (4) three-pointers on the night, giving the Hornets the lead at 33-32 with 4:08 showing on the clock.
Dominic Brewton's driving layup gave the hosts the 40-38 lead just before the half, as the Purple and Gold held the advantage heading into the locker room.
In the second half, Alcorn shot 48.3 percent from the field, including a 40 percent touch from beyond the arc, to propel the Braves to their second SWAC win of the campaign. A fast 9-2 run to start the half was kick-started by Montgomery, while a Kendall free throw capped it off to give the Purple and Gold a 49-40 lead less than three minutes into the second half. Kendall's jumper in the paint gave the Purple and Gold its first double-digit lead of the night, 55-45. The lead would later swell to 65-53 off Montgomery's three-pointer from the top of the key with 10:40 remaining.
Another late Alcorn push came on the strength of Brewton with six straight points, allowing the Braves a 76-59 advantage after the under-eight timeout. In all, the
Landon Bussie led Braves shot 52.6 percent from three-point range on the night, as well as 47 percent from the floor overall. Alabama State answered with a 45.5 percent touch from the field. Meanwhile, the Braves controlled the battle of the boards with a 35-25 edge in rebounding, including 14 on the offensive glass. Alcorn would turn 15 Alabama State turnovers into 22 points off of, going on to outscore the Hornets 40-20 in the paint. The Hornets were led in scoring by five players in double figures – Alex Anderson (13), McCoy (12), Duane Posey (10), Isaiah Range (10) and Madlock (10).
Alcorn was paced in scoring by Montgomery with 23 points and eight rebounds. For the Jackson, Mississippi native, the game represented his second consecutive 20-point scoring outburst, having blazed the Braves to the win Saturday over Alabama A&M with 24 points. Kendall poured in 19 points and eight rebounds, while teammates Brewton (18) and Joshua (17) also found their way into the double-digit scoring column.
CATCH THE BRAVES LIVE AT THE WHITNEY IN 2023
Season Tickets for 2022-23 Alcorn Men's Basketball at the Davey L. Whitney Health and Physical Education Complex are now available for purchase at
Alcornsports.MyImpactTickets.com/basketball. Season tickets for the home SWAC competitions are $76.25, while single-game admission is $12.65 in advance.
UP NEXT
Alcorn continues its "Lone Star State" road trip with a visit to Prairie View A&M on Monday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m. The game is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day basketball event around the nation.
Follow Alcorn State Men's Basketball on Twitter (
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