Jackson Free Press

Alcorn State University senior forward Deshawn Andrews is enjoying an incredible stretch of basketball. Andrews helped the Braves to three straight conference wins as he averaged 22 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 steals.

The York, S.C. native scored 18 points against Grambling State University and Mississippi Valley State University. He dropped a career-high 30 points against Grambling State University. His three big scoring games came after scoring just five points in a loss against Jackson State.

Andrews shot the ball outstandingly well as he went 21-for-36 from the field, 13-for-21 from the three-point line, and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line. His recent play earned Andrews SWAC Player of the Week honors.

This season, Andrews averaged 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. He shot 46.6 percent from the field overall and 50 percent from the three-point line. In 12 of the 17 games he played in this season, Andrews scored double-digits in points.

In eight of the 12 games, he scored 13 or more points as is tied for second for scoring on the team. In seven games this season he scored 17 or more points. He is third on the team in rebounding and third in steals with 20 so far on the season.

Last season, Andrews averaged 8.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists as he played in 31 games. He shot 40.7 percent overall from the field and 32.7 percent from the three-point line.

Andrews raised his shooting percentage from the field overall and from the three-point line. The free-throw line is where he made his biggest improvement, going from shooting 65.1 percent last season to 89.5 percent from the line this season.

Before playing at Alcorn State, Andrews played basketball at the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie, a junior college in South Carolina. He was named Region X player of the year for the 2017-2018 season, All-Region First-Team, and NJCAA Division I All-American Third-Team.

He averaged 16.8 points and 7.1 rebounds while at USC Salkehatchie. Andrews was named 3-4A Player of the Year at York Comprehensive High School. He was named All-Region and All-State in football and played in the North-South All-Star Game.

Alcorn State is currently 8-9 overall but 4-2 in SWAC play and sitting in third place in the conference. The Braves host Alabama A&M University on Saturday, Jan. 25 with tipoff at 5:30 p.m. Alcorn State plays at home on Monday, Jan. 27 against Alabama State University with tipoff at 7:30 p.m. ASU should be in the mix for a top seed in the conference tournament if Andrrews keeps up his outstanding play.