The bad news for Dave Whitney’s Alcorn State Braves is they have taken quite a few lumps in their nonconference slate. The good news is Southwestern Athletic Conference play begins this weekend.

The Braves currently sit at 1-5 on the young season, following Monday night’s loss to the Hawaii Rainbows out on the islands. Their lone victory came by virtue of an 82-70 triumph over Tougaloo College in Lorman on Nov. 24.

Now Whitney hopes his Braves can pull positives out of losing to teams such as Southern Miss, New Mexico and New Mexico State, heading into the league slate.

Saturday they hit the road once again to face off against the Prairie View A&M Panthers in their conference opener.

The Braves follow that up on Monday when they stay in Texas, heading to Houston to face Texas Southern. Both games tip at 7:30 p.m. and can be heard on the Alcorn State radio network. Former Jefferson County standout Marcus Fleming is second among SWAC players in rebounding at 7.8. He is third in steals at 2.4.