ITTA BENA, MS (January 26, 2019) — Mississippi Valley State men's basketball team outrebounded their opponent for the second time this season and had three players score in double-digits against Prairie View tonight in the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex. Junior Michael Green recorded 15 points followed by seniors Jordan Evans with 14 and Dante Scott rounding out the double-digit trio with 11 points. In the end, it was a second-half scoring slump at the free throw line that ultimately sealed the Delta Devil's 89-78 fate against the Panthers who are undefeated in conference play.
Behind Green's 11 first-half points, the Delta Devils (3-17, 1-5) went into halftime against the Panthers (8-11, 6-0) tied at 40. MVSU led across the board shooting 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from the field, 3-of-6 (50 percent) from beyond the arc, and 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) from the free throw line. Early foul trouble resulted in both teams having to sit their respective big man (No. 10 Emmanuel Ejeh and No. 23 Davonte Patterson), which graciously worked in favor of the Delta Devils.
Neither team could pull away from one another to gain momentum, until the 15:07 mark in the second half when Prairie View's Gary Blackston tied the score at 50. Led by Gerald Andrus' 11 points the Panthers then increased their lead by double-digits (68-55) at the 8:06 mark, and continued through the seven-minute mark coach Payne referenced.
After shooting 81.3 percent from the free throw line in the first half, the Delta Devils only converted nine of their 15 opportunities at the line in the second half. Overall, the Delta Devils made 26-of-59 field goals (44.1 percent), 4-of-16 three-point attempts (25 percent) and 22-of-31 free throws (71 percent) while the Panthers were 27-of-60 from the field (45 percent), 9-of-29 from the three-point field (31 percent) and 26-of-39 from the free throw line (66.7 percent).
Off the bench, Dante Scott scored nine points and pulled in five rebounds in the second half to help the Delta Devils chip away at the Panther's lead. The MVSU defense held the Panthers to only 10 three-point attempts compared to the 19 they had in the first half. Yet, despite outrebounding a team for the second time this season (42-35) the Delta Devils just could not capitalize to pull off the upset.
Senior Emmanuel Ejeh came up just shy of a double-double after early foul trouble adding nine points and eight rebounds.
Four Panthers finished in double-figure scoring with Andrus scoring a team-high 15 points. Blackston had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Devonte Patterson contributed 13 points and Darius Williams had 11 points.
MVSU looks to end a current four-game losing streak with a matchup against Texas Southern in the Harrison HPER Complex on Monday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Postgame Quotes
MVSU Head Coach Andre Payne
Opening Statement…
"Well… It was a tough game for us… I thought we played good basketball. We went into the half with a 40-40 tie. The guys were fighting. We had one of our big guys in foul trouble, and we had to pull him early, but the guys who stepped in to replace him did well. The game got away from us around that 13-minute mark of the second half. We couldn't answer their scoring with free throws. We shot free throws pretty well all night, except for between the 13 to 7-minute mark, and that really hurt us. It allowed them to pull away, and develop a cushion that we couldn't overcome."
On the 18 lead changes against a very good Prairie View team…
"There is no moral victory. We lost and of course, we are disappointed in that, but they're good you know. I have to tip my hat to them because they're a hard team to match up with because of their post players. Especially No.23. He is a hard guy to defend off the dribble. He is too fast for the average post guy, yet he is too big for the average guard. And so, it was a tough matchup for us all night. And, with the wings shooting the way they shoot, it is hard to try to double down on him, because they can really knock down shots."
On Prairie View pulling ahead in second half…
"Well, what allowed them to push off is that he was no longer in foul trouble in the second half. The first half, they had to sit him. If you look at the beginning of the game, I think he may have had the first 6 or 7 points, but he got quick fouls, so he had to sit. And, I give kudos to the coaching staff. They made the correct subs, they were able to sit him, and hide him not to get that third foul quickly in the second half. That hurt us tremendously because he just was a bad matchup for us."
Senior Guard Jordan Evans
On playing better when he starts games…
"I feel like I played good… Close to the end, I could've made better decisions."
Junior Guard Michael Green
On what went into preparing for this game mentally…
"Coach Payne prepared us well… Initially, we wanted to keep them from getting in the lane. We wanted to force them to shoot shots from the outside. It was tied at the half, but at the end, we just lost focus…"
