Courtesy: SWAC.org
Mississippi Valley State 85, Alcorn State 66
ITTA BENA, Miss. — Terrance Joyner scored 22 points and Falando Jones tallied a double-double, leading Mississippi Valley State in an 85-66 win over Alcorn State on Saturday to remain unbeaten in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Jones had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul Crosby also added 14 points for the Delta Devils (5-11, 4-0). MVSU has won a season-high four straight.
Joyner also hit 5 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc. MVSU got up early and stayed comfortably ahead throughout, leading 40-26 at the break and outscoring the Braves 45-40 in the second half to seal it.
The Delta Devils were the more physical team in this one, outrebounding the Braves 48-32 and outscoring them in the paint 28-18.
JaMichael Hawkins scored 15 points to pace Alcorn State (3-13, 1-4).
Texas Southern 61, Grambling 57
GRAMBLING, La. — Omar Strong scored 12 points and Texas Southern used a 7-0 run in the game’s final 1:36 to rally for a 61-57 win over Grambling State on Saturday night.
Strong was 2-for-2 from the foul line to push the Texas Southern lead to three points with 11 seconds left, more than a minute after DaQuan Joyner hit two free throws and then a jumper to start the run. Aaron Clayborn sank a foul shot with 1 second left for Texas Southern’s final margin and to close out the game-winning run in the final 1 1/2 minutes, during which Grambling State missed four shots and a free throw.
Joyner finished with 11 points for Texas Southern (5-11, 4-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who have won a season-high four straight.
Quincy Roberts paced Grambling State (2-13, 2-3) with a game-high 22 points.
Southern 69, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 68
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Derick Beltran nailed a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining to propel Southern University over Arkansas-Pine Bluff 69-68 Saturday.
After trailing 58-50 with just under eight minutes remaining, Southern (8-10, 4-10 SWAC) embarked on a 7-0 run to chip the lead to one before falling behind by six at the 2:33 mark, 64-68.
Two 3-pointers, from Jameel Grace and Mike Celestin, sandwiched between two free throw makes by Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-16, 0-4) set up Beltran’s heroics as the Jaguars took possession with 19 seconds remaining.
Beltran finished with 21 points on 7 for 11 shooting from the field.
Grace and Celestin finished with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Arkansas-Pine Bluff led 32-26 at the half and notched a robust 54.4 shooting percentage in the second half, but was undone by Southern’s second-half 57.1 percent clip from 3-point range.
The Golden Lions’ Savalace Townsend led all scorers with 31 points.
Alabama State 53, Alabama A&M 50
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Tramaine Butler scored 13 points and Alabama State defeated Alabama A&M 53-50 on Saturday night.
Alabama State trailed 26-19 at halftime but opened the second half with an 18-4 run over the first 8 minutes to lead 37-30. The Hornets’ biggest lead was nine points and they made 5 of 8 free throws over the final 2:37 to preserve the win.
Jeffrey Middlebrooks added 12 points and Phillip Crawford had 10 for the Hornets (7-10, 4-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who have won five of their past six games. The Hornets lead the series 22-7 since 2000.
Neither team shot well as Alabama State made 35.2 percent of its field goal attempts (19 of 54) while the Bulldogs made 33.3 percent (16 of 48).
Demarquelle Tabb had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (3-11, 1-4).
Prairie View A&M 72, Jackson State 66
JACKSON, Miss. — Louis Munks scored 25 points to lead Prairie View A&M to a 72-66 victory over Jackson State in Southwestern Athletic Conference play Saturday night.
Munks had 16 of his points in the first half, when the Panthers (6-11, 2-2) shot 51.6 percent (16 of 31) and took a 39-29 lead into the break. Prairie View used a 13-2 run to pull ahead 20-10 with 8:14 left.
The Tigers (3-14, 1-4), who had won their last seven meetings with Prairie View, gradually trimmed the deficit in the second half, when Christian Williams scored 16 of his 20 points, but couldn’t climb all the way back.
Jules Montgomery and Jourdan DeMuynck scored 12 points apiece for Prairie View, and DeMuynck led the Panthers with eight rebounds followed by seven from Munks.
Jenirro Bush added 17 points for Jackson State, which has lost four straight, and Derrell Taylor grabbed 12 rebounds.
