Itta Bena, Miss. — The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils saw a 21 point first half lead dwindled down to one point with less than two minutes to play but managed to hold on to claim a, 74-71, victory over the Braves of Alcorn State University.
Out of what seemed to be an early blow out arose an evenly played contest with both teams connecting on 24 field goals, pulling down 33 rebounds and having four players score in double figures. However, once again it proved to be the bench play that made the difference.
The Delta Devils bench would account for 23 points and 14 rebounds, whereas the Braves bench turned in a mere nine points and four rebounds.
The Delta Devils were led by Larry Cox who turned in his third consecutive double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds with four blocked shots. Michael Clark led Valley scorers with 18 points, while Mike Davis added 13 points, four rebounds and three steals. Stanford Speech had 15 points and five assists.
For the Braves (3-15, 2-3 SWAC) Anthony Ford had a game high 22 points. Alex Owumi added 13 points and six rebounds, James Kendrick 12 points and six rebounds and Troy Jackson 10 points and five rebounds.
The Delta Devils (4-11, 2-2 SWAC) will return to action Monday night when they host the Southern University Jaguars at 7:30 p.m in the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex on the MVSU campus.
