GRAMBLING, La. | In a battle for sole possession of second place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) men's basketball standings, Grambling State couldn't take down Alcorn State, falling 63-60 at Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on Monday night.

GSU (13-8 overall, 6-3 SWAC) who led for the majority of the contest, couldn't cash in on multiple opportunities to put distance between themselves and the pesky Braves. The Tigers' woes at the free throw line reared its head throughout the evening as GSU sank just 46.7 percent of its attempts (7-of-15) as a team. 

The loss snapped Grambling State's seven-game home winning streak. 

Alcorn State (10-11, 7-2) jumped out of the gates quickly on the Tigers, building a 13-8 lead  midway through the first half. Grambling State began to settle in using a 6-0 run the nab its first lead of the contest, 14-13. ASU grew its lead back the five points, 22-17 on a 3-pointer from Dekedran Thorn with 7:02 to go in the first half. 

With the Tigers leading 26-24 at the 3:04 mark, Shwndarius Cowart fouled Dominic Brewton on a three-point attempt, sending the Braves to the line. Brenton converted all three free throws, putting ASU back in front 27-26. Version Cotton then knocked down a trey for GSU, moving the Tigers back in front. Cotten scored a team-high 12 points

Carte'Are Gordon followed that with a putback layup, extending the advantage to 31-27 with 1:32 to go in the half. 

After a 3-pointer by the Braves, GSU carried a 31-30 lead into the break. 

In the second half, it looked as if Grambling State would separate itself from ASU, building its largest lead of the contest, 40-33 at 16:40 mark of the second half. However, Alcorn State battled its way back with a 7-0 run, tying the game at 40-40 with 15:02 to go.

Trailing 49-48 with eight minutes to play, a pair of 3-pointers from Zahad Munford gave the Tigers a 54-49 cushion. A couple minutes later, Cotton splashed another three, extending the Tigers' lead to 57-51 with 5:59 remaining.

The Braves jumped back ahead, eventually grabbig a 63-58 lead with 1:29 left. With 1:18 to go, Jourdan Smith sliced his way through the lane for a layup, bring GSU back within one possession of the lead. 

After Alcorn State grabbed a rebound off of a missed 3-pointer, GSU's defense forced a turnover. This led to one more opportunity for the Tigers to extend the game with eight seconds remaining.

GSU's Cameron Cameron was able to draw a showing foul on a three-point attempt with 6.5 seconds left, but wasn't able to sink his shots at the charity stripe.

As a team, the Tigers went 22-of-43 from the field, including draining 9-of-17 from behind the arc. Alcorn State shot 49.0 percent from the floor (25-of-51). 

The Braves were paced offensively by Dominic Breton with 16 points. 

UP NEXT

GSU heads to Montgomery, Ala. to take on Alabama State on Feb. 4. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on HBCUGo.tv.

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