AVALON, Miss. (Interstat) — Alcorn State built a large first-half lead and withstood a second-half surge to defeat Mississippi Valley State 74-66 in a SWAC men’s basketball game Monday at LeFlore County Civic Center.

The Braves led 36-25 at halftime, but the Delta Devils outscored them 41-38 after intermission, narrowing the gap late. Michael James led all scorers with 28 points for Mississippi Valley State. Nick Woodard paced Alcorn State with 16 points.

Alcorn State improved to 5-18 overall. Mississippi Valley State dropped to 1-23. Attendance was 219.