Lorman, MS- Today on the reservation, the Alcorn State Braves had their hands full as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions came to town looking to get that bad taste out their mouths from last week’s lost. The focus coming into today’s contest was being efficient on both sides of the ball and that’s just what the Golden Lions were able to accomplish.
The Golden Lion offense, led by second-year signal caller Ben Anderson, cracked the score board first with 1:27 left in the first quarter when Anderson hit Dezmond Beverly on a 10 yard pass to get the offense moving in the right direction.
Alcorn reached the end zone just before the half for their only score of the afternoon. The Golden Lions went into the half with 7-6 lead.
The Golden Lions came out of the half energized and ready to close out the Braves. John Toney left his mark on the Braves defense as he broke tackle after tackle on his 54 yard touchdown jaunt to push the lead to 14-6. Tyler Strickland added to the scoring barrage with a 38 yard field goal to finish out the third quarter 17-6.
Anderson found the end zone one more time, but this time it was on his own efforts as he kept the snap and galloped off tackle for a 34 yard touchdown; for the game’s final score of 24-6, putting the nail in the coffin.
Defensively, the Golden Lions were lead by Xavier Lofton with 10 stops, as Brandon Thurmond added two sacks to his sack total putting him at five-and-a-half sacks through the first three ballgames. David Watson came away with his second interception of the year as the Braves tried to reach pay dirt one last time.
Next up for the Golden Lions, is a prime time match-up against Alabama State in Montgomery, AL on ESPNU. The kickoff is slated for 6:30 pm.
