#SWACMBB Recaps: December 21
Today’s Scores:
Liberty 73, Alabama State 55
LaSalle 80, Alabama A&M 57
South Florida 83, Alcorn State 44
Hornets unable to cool off Liberty
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Reginald Gee led three players in double figures for Alabama State, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the hot-shooting of Liberty in a 73-55 loss to the Flames in the first of the St. Pete Shootout at the McArthur Center Friday morning.
Gee led Alabama State (2-8) with 12 points, while hitting on 2-of-5 three-pointers, and dished out a pair of assists in the loss. Meanwhile, Jacoby Ross and Leon Daniels each added 10 for the Hornets, with Ross dishing out a game-high five assists.
Alabama State shot 40 (18-of-45) percent from the floor in the loss, including 54.2 (13-of-24) percent in the second half. Meanwhile, they shot 47.4 (9-of-19) percent from beyond the arc and just 47.6 (10-of-21) percent from the free throw line, while forcing 18 Liberty turnovers.
Keenan Gumbs led three players from Liberty (10-3) in double figures with 14 points, including knocking down all six of his free throw opportunities. Scottie James and Darius McGhee each added 11 for Liberty, with Gumbs also collecting seven rebounds.
Liberty finished the day shooting 60 (21-of-35) percent from the floor, including shooting 63.2 (12-of-19) percent from the floor in the first half. They also shot 52.9 (9-of-17) percent from beyond the arc, and 88 (22-of-25) percent from the free throw line.
Alabama State jumped out to a 5-2 lead early, before Liberty went on a 14-0 run to take a 16-5 lead midway through the first half. The Flames connected on seven three-pointers in the first half, out of the 12 total field goals made. The Hornets fell behind by as many as 23 in the second half, before they were able to trim it down to 11 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the contest. They had a chance to cut the lead to single digits twice, but the Hornets missed a pair of free throws and a three from the corner, before Liberty went on another run to push the lead back to 20.
- Alabama State Athletic Strategic Communications
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Alcorn falls to South Florida
TAMPA, Fla. — To conclude non-conference play, the Alcorn State University men's basketball program came on the short end of an 83-44 decision to South Florida on Friday at the Yuengling Center.
Junior Deshaw Andrews led Alcorn (4-8) with a team-high 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. Sophomore Troymain Crosby tallied eight points and seven rebounds.
The Braves swatted away a season-high eight blocks. Junior Devon Brewer rejected three and has seven blocks in his last three games. Junior Alonzo Campbell knocked away a pair of blocks and also registered career-highs of nine points and five rebounds off the bench.
Alcorn entered the game leading the league in three-pointers made per game with 8.8, but had a cold night. The Braves went 2-for-15 (.133) from long distance.
USF (9-2), which extended its winning-streak to five games, was paced by Alexis Yetna who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Brown also scored 16 points.
The game was close early as a jumper by Andrews and a lay-up by sophomore Jael Scott had Alcorn down just 15-14 at the 10:50 mark of the first half. It wasn't until a 12-0 run by the Bulls near the end of the half created separation. USF led 46-23 at the intermission.
The Bulls opened the second half strong with a 7-0 spurt to change the score to 53-23 with 16:24 remaining. USF's largest lead was 81-38 with 4:17 to go.
- Alcorn State Sports Information
QUICK HITS
- Isiah Deas scored 19 points as LaSalle topped Alabama A&M 80-57 Friday night in the Boardwalk Battle men's basketball tournament. LaSalle (1-10) led the majority of the game. The Explorers closed the first half strong, building a 40-24 cushion. Arthur Johnson led Alabama A&M (0-11) with 12 points, while Tre Todd tossed in 10. Pooke Powell scored 17 for LaSalle.