Montgomery Makes It Back-to-Back Wins

LORMAN, Miss. – It was another Keondre Montgomery masterclass Monday evening, as Alcorn defeated visiting Alabama State, 92-76 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men's Basketball action at the Davey L. Whitney Complex. For Alcorn the win was their second consecutive to end a three-game homestand.
 
It was a back-and-forth first half between the two teams.
 
Dekedran Thorn and Keondre Montgomery netted three-pointers from the start to push Alcorn (5-10, 2-1 SWAC) 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.
 
But 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.
 
It's a Texas road trip for the Braves, as Alcorn begins consecutive games in the "Lone Star State" against Texas Southern on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 3 p.m. Two days later, the Purple and Gold will travel to Prairie View A&M for a Monday night affair with the Panthers in a game to be televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m.


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