UAPB Beats Bama St. in OT, Alcorn Routs PVAM
The never-say-die Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lions came from behind to beat Alabama State 60-56 in overtime in the final quarterfinal game of the SWAC Men's Basketball at the
Special Events Center. The Lions (11-21) advanced to the semifinals to face top seed Mississippi Valley State on Friday.
Bama State led 26-20 at halftime and appeared to be about to pull away when they built an 11-point lead with 10:19 left at 40-29. But, UAPB stormed back, outscoring the Hornets 22-11 the last 10 minutes. With three seconds left, UAPB guard Savalace Townsend tied the game at 51-all with a layup. Alabama State had one more chance, but a desperation heave hit the glass, banged off the rim and fell harmlessly away on the the buzzer.
In overtime, the Lions had a five point lead at 57-52 with 1:55 left. A jumper by Ryan Watts and a pair of freethrows by Phillip Crawford got the Hornets within a point at 57-56 with 37 seconds left. However, UAPB guard Mitchell Anderson slammed the door on Bama State with a dunk.
The Hornets had several shots to tie the game, but the lid was on the basket. Townsend put the game out of reach with a freethrow with 13 seconds left.
Anderson led UAPB with 16 points and seven rebounds. Daniel Broughton added 13 points and five rebounds and Townsend rang up a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Bama State senior guard Tramaine Butler had a game-high 18 points to lead the Hornets. He also had 10 rebounds. Crawford also finished with double figures, scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
#6 Alcorn State (10-21) 103, Prairie View (14-18) 79
Sixth seed Alcorn State (10-21) advanced to the semifinals with a loud bang, blasting No. 3 seed Prairie View (14-18) 103-79 in their opening game. The Braves will move on to face the No. 2 seed Texas Southern on Friday at 2:30.
Senior guard Ken McDonald led Alcorn State with 26 points. McDonald torched the Panthers, making 11-of-12 fieldgoals, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range. Guard Anthony Nieves and forward KeDorian Sullivan popped in 16 points each, while guard Xavian Rimmer contributed 15.
PVAM was led by guard Louis Munks, who finished with 13 points.
It was a total destruction from the start. The Braves shot 71.4% (20-for-28) from the field in the first half, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half. Alcorn built a commanding 50-17 lead by halftime. While the Braves were flourishing, PVAM was floundering, shooting obly 28.6 percent from the field.
The second half was a continuation of the first 20 minutes of misery for PVAM. The canyon between the two teams blew up to 45 points at 63-18 inside the first five minutes of the second half. The Panthers did manage to play even in the second half, 43-43, but couldn't make a dent in the huge deficit.
