Alcorn State rallies to defeat Bethune -Cookman, stays in first place

BY JARRETT HOFFMAN The Alcorn State Braves averted disaster on Saturday erasing a late second-half deficit to defeat the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 76-74. The win extends Alcorn’s win streak to four games, improving their overall record to 13-11. They also maintain a hold on first place in the SWAC as they are now  to 10-2 in conference play. Bethune-Cookman, on the other hand, has now dropped two straight games, bringing their record to 9-16 overall and 5-7 in the SWAC. Leading the way for the Braves was Byron Joshua who finished with 15 points, eight assists, and four rebounds. Oddyst Walker also chipped in 15 points along with six rebounds and four steals. Bethune-Cookman’s Kevin Davis led all scorers with 18 points and connected  on three three-pointers while Joe French scored 17 points. Following a first half controlled by Bethune-Cookman leading by as many as nine points, Alcorn flipped the script in the second half going on a 9-2 run to begin the period to take a seven-point lead. The Wildcats continued to battle going on to take the lead back with five minutes remaining in the game. With 3:30 remaining, Bethune led by six points and led by four points with just over a minute remaining. After scoring on two quick layups to tie the game, Alcorn sealed the win with an alley-oop dunk as time expired.