Penn scores 17, Texas Southern puts away Alcorn State 77-69

LORMAN, Miss. – Ray Penn scored 17 points, while Aaric Murray and Madarious Gibbs each added 14 as Texas Southern defeated Alcorn State 77-69 on Thursday night.

The Tigers (15-14, 11-6 Southwestern Athletic Conference) shot 52.4 percent from the field, hit eight 3-pointers and had a 10-2 advantage in fastbreak points. Penn went 11 of 12 from the foul line and Murray was 10 of 14.

Alcorn State (11-18, 8-9) was held to 23-of-57 shooting (40.4 percent) and went 5 of 16 beyond the arc. Octavius Brown led the Braves with 23 points and LeAntwan Luckett had 16.

Texas Southern held a 34-29 halftime advantage, and pushed that lead to 15 with 7:45 remaining after a 15-4 run sparked by two Penn 3-pointers. Alcorn State trimmed their deficit to five after a layup by Luckett with 47 seconds left, but Penn followed with five straight free throws to seal it.