Team #85 - Alcorn State

On Sunday November 28th, 2021, I saw my 85th different Division One College Basketball team. This time it was the Alcorn State Braves taking on the Milwaukee Panthers. Alcorn State is the fourth member of the SWAC that I have seen. They came into this matchup with an 0-5 record. Despite being 0-5, the Braves have been competitive in most games this year. Three of their five losses are by four or less points. The other two losses are to Gonzaga and Washington State. Milwaukee has also had their fair share of early season struggles. After beating North Dakota to start the season, they have lost four in a row. Since I last saw Milwaukee. They have dropped contests to Florida, Bowling Green and Yale. While there is no shame in losing to Florida. These matchup's with Bowling Green and Yale were very winnable games. Milwaukee dropped both contests as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Needless to say, the Panthers are more than eager to get out of the State of Florida. The other big storyline leading into this game would be the status of Patrick Baldwin Jr.  After scoring a dismal eight points against Bowling Green, he sat out their most recent game against Yale with an ankle injury. The loss of PBJ for any amount of time would be devastating for a program that was so hopeful coming into the season. With the early season struggles of Milwaukee. I am hoping PBJ doesn't pull the plug on the season early. Baldwin is very close to Jalen Johnson, who did so last year, when the going got tough at Duke. Being PBJ plays for his father at UWM. You would hope the situation would be different. 

As it turned out, Milwaukee would be down more than just PBJ. Milwaukee would also be without their fourth leading scorer Josh Thomas.who was suspended. The first half began and very early on you could see it was going to be a slugfest. Missed shot after missed shot. At the ten minute mark, the score was tied at ten. Alcorn State lead for a majority of the first half. Milwaukee struggled with the on ball pressure of Alcorn State. Many times after a made basket, Alcorn would press. Milwaukee had a few turnovers off this press which lead to some easy baskets for Alcorn. It was a big surprise to many, with six minutes to go in the first half, that Alcorn was up 20-14. However, the shooting woes came the way of Alcorn this time. They would not score for the rest of the first half. A DeAndre Gholston layup with 3:30 left in the first half gave the Panthers their first lead since an early 7-2 lead. Milwaukee ended the first half on a 9-0 run to give them a 23-20 lead going into halftime. Joey St Pierre lead Milwaukee with nine points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Dontrell McQuarter and Lenell Henry each had six for Alcorn State. 

Milwaukee began the second half by hitting a pair of three pointers. This matched their total from the first half alone. Milwaukee all of a sudden had the largest lead of the game at 30-22. However, Alcorn would come storming back. Reserve guard, Paul King would score eight points in a minute and a half for the Braves. They took a one point lead with 13 minutes. For the next 7-8 minutes, the game would go back and forth with King hitting three more clutch shots. For a guy who was six foot and 170 pounds. He showed no fear. Many wondered who would take control late in this close matchup. It was Alcorn who took control of the game down the stretch. Only up a point with 6:30 to go, Justin Thomas made a layup and was fouled. He converted the free throw and the game was now 47-43. The final backbreaker for Milwaukee was a Keondre Montgomery three pointer from the top of the key. This was his only basketball of the game. From this point on, you could see Milwaukee was very tired from having a short bench. Any jump shot that was taken was short. All five starters played 30+ minutes for Milwaukee and it certainly showed down the stretch. In the end, it would be Alcorn State picking up the victory with a final of 61-57. Congratulations to the Braves on their first win of the season. Paul King lead the Braves in scoring with 18 points, all but two of which were scored in the 2nd half. DeAndre Gholston finished with 17 points for the Panthers. 

My next game will be Tuesday, as I see Jackson State take on Marquette.