Falando Jones had 25 points and 12 rebounds as Mississippi Valley State pulled away from Arkansas-Pine Bluff 82-67 on Tuesday night in the Southwestern Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Paul Crosby added 21 points for the Delta Devils (2-11), who snapped a seven-game skid.
Mississippi Valley State led 37-31 at halftime, then saw the Golden Lions (1-13) get within two points just a minute into the second half. After Jones knocked down two 3-pointers to spark a 12-2 run, Arkansas-Pine Bluff could get no closer than five and trailed by double digits the last 6:56.
While the Golden Lions had a better overall shooting percentage, 50.9 percent (28 of 55) to 48.3 percent (29 of 60), the difference was beyond the arc. The Delta Devils hit 12 of 28 3-pointers compared to only 1 of 9 for Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Savalace Townsend led the Golden Lions with 21 points.
