Braves Comeback Falls Short to FAMU

LORMAN, Miss. – Five Alcorn players touched double figures scoring Monday night, but it was not enough as visiting Florida A&M held on for an 86-78 win in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men's Basketball contest at Davey L. Whitney Complex in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
Florida A&M (10-14, 7-6 SWAC) led wire-to-wire, building as much as a 26-point lead just over midway through the second half. Alcorn (6-19, 5-8) was denied an opportunity at a third successive win despite cutting the lead to single digits with under a minute remaining. The Braves finished the visit from the Florida teams at 1-1 overall after defeating SWAC-leading Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.
 
Braves Standouts
• Five different players scored double-digits – Jameel Morris (15), Nick Woodard (14), Shane Lancaster (13), Tycen McDaniels (11) and Bryson Calamese (10).
• Calamese was a perfect 6 of 6 at the charity stripe in the contest.
• Morris handed out a team-high seven assists, while shooting at a blistering 6-for-7 touch from the field – his only miss being a three-pointer. He was also 3 of 3 at the foul line.
• Davian Williams provided three steals and four defensive rebounds on the night.
• McDaniels also supplied two blocked shots on defense.
 
How It Happened
• Under the direction of first-year head coach Charlie Ward, Florida A&M knocked down six first half three-pointers, including two in transition.
• Alcorn fell behind 11-5 after a pair of Jaquan Sanders free throws, only to trim the lead with a 4-0 run kicked off by an Omari Hamilton layup off the glass.
• The Rattlers embarked upon a 7-0 run to increase their lead to 18-9 on the strength of a Sanders three-pointer, in addition to a Kaleb Washinton alley-oop from Antonio Baker.
• Once again the Braves fought back, this time using a 10-2 run to get within 20-19, as it was Woodard's putback off the glass joined by a McDaniels up-and-under that sparked the scoring streak for the Purple and Gold.
• The Rattlers would take a 39-29 lead into the half.
• FAMU began the second half on a 16-4 run, allowing the visitors a 55-33 advantage.
• The Braves used two Lancaster three-pointers in the second half to chip away at the lead.
• Alcorn shot 10 of 13 at the foul line in the final 20 minutes, while FAMU shot just 16-for-23 at the charity stripe across that span.
• A Washington driving dunk off an Alcorn turnover allowed the Rattlers a 76-51 edge with 2:20 remaining.
• Morris dropped in five-straight points and Lancaster added a three-pointer to bring the Braves to within 80-72 with under a minute to play.
• Despite Alcorn getting several open layups down the stretch, it would be the Rattlers holding back the hosts with free throws down the stretch, knocking down 8 of 10 in the final minute of the contest, respectfully.
• Morris had 13 of his 15 points on the night in the second half alone, while teammate Lancaster 10 of his 13 in that span.
• Alcorn shot 51.4 percent in the second half, adding an 87 percent touch at the free throw line for the game.
• FAMU was led in scoring by five players in double figures – Sanders (17), Washington (15), Tyler Shirley (13), Jordan Chatman (12) and Antonio Baker (11).
 
Up Next
Alcorn welcomes in-state foe Jackson State to Lorman and Davey L. Whitney Complex for a much-anticipated SWAC showdown on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m.
 
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