Quarterfinals: Alcorn State 63, Mississippi Valley State 60
SWAC.org
No. 2 Alcorn State 63, No. 7 Mississippi Valley State 60
Lorman, MS – The Alcorn State University men's basketball program withstood a 14-2 run in the final four minutes to hang on and defeat Mississippi Valley State 63-60 in the first round of the SWAC Championships on Tuesday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Alcorn (17-13, 13-5 SWAC), the No. 2 seed, was up 59-46 at the four-minute mark when the seventh-seeded Delta Devils (7-25, 7-11 SWAC) came storming back. They chipped away with a 5-0 run to make it 59-51, and after a pair of free throws by senior Denzel Dulin, MVSU used a 9-0 spurt to cut it to a one-point game with 45 seconds left.
After a charging call was made on the Braves, the Delta Devils had a chance to take the lead, but a steal by Dulin with 6.5 seconds proved to be the biggest play of the night. Dulin then drained a pair of free throws, and a contested last-second three-pointer by MVSU was off the mark.
Junior A.J. Mosby led the Braves with 17 points and six rebounds. Junior Reginal Johnson, an All-Conference Second-Team honoree, neared a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Dulin was also a heavy contributor with 13 points and eight rebounds. Dulin was also seven-for-eight from the free throw line.
MVSU was guided by All-Conference First-Team selection Marcus Romain's game-high 29 points. Rashaan Surles aided the attack with 17 points.
The Braves advance to play No. 3 seed Southern on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.
–Alcorn State Sports Information