Johnson scores 23 with 11 boards, Alcorn St tops Alabama A&M

Feb 20, 2017, 11:54 pm

LORMAN, Miss. -- Reginal Johnson scored 23 points, on 11-of-17 shooting, and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Alcorn State beat Alabama A&M 74-59 on Monday night to clinch a top-four seed in the Southwestern Conference Tournament.

Marquis Vance had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Alcorn State (15-11, 12-3). The Braves are a half-game behind first-place Texas Southern in the conference standings and will host a first-round game in the SWAC Tournament on March 7.

Maurice Howard and Vance each hit a 3-pointer during a 7-0 run that gave Alcorn State its first lead, 24-21, with 8:27 left in the first half. Johnson's layup about three minutes later put the Braves in front for good and sparked a 21-6 spurt -- that spanned halftime -- to make it 47-33 with 18 minutes to go. Alcorn State led by double figures the rest of the way.

De'Ederick Petty scored 23 points and Rakiya Battle had 13 assists for Alabama A&M (1-24, 1-13). The Bulldogs have lost 11 in a row.