LORMAN &045; Much like he preached to the entire team through early-season struggles, Alcorn head coach Sam West had one message for leading scorer Brian Jackson.

Be patient.

The senior forward went through some ups and downs prior to the Braves’ previous homestand &045; both with an injury and getting comfortable in the new offensive system. But Saturday and Monday was a stark difference as Jackson reached double figures in scoring in wins over Alabama State and Alabama A&M.;

He was named SWAC Player of the Week on Tuesday and is feeling better about his game going into tonight’s non-conference contest with Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi at the Whitney Complex.

&uot;It was about time for me to step it up,&uot; said Jackson, who had 22 points Saturday and 14 Monday. &uot;Coach West told me to let the game come to me and I would get the shots. I pretty much stayed back and let the game come to me.&uot;

Jackson’s play can spark the team, as evidenced in both games over the weekend. The team’s leading scorer from a year ago, Jackson is one of the team’s best shooters and is the team leader in 3-pointers at 22.

When Jackson got on his game over the weekend and the offense was working according to plan, things started to open up for him and everyone else.

It helped the Braves get two wins and climb back in the race in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

&uot;BJ is a real good player, but he doesn’t talk much,&uot; point guard Trey Johnson said. &uot;Once he gets going shooting the ball, it’s going to bring his whole game around. We try to get him going early, and we try to feed off him. He was getting a little frustrated with the new offense. He’s a scorer, and scorers want to touch the ball a lot. He didn’t get enough touch he felt he needed to get.

&uot;Now everybody knows that’s pretty much our go-to man, and that’s who we’ll go to to start off the game. Everybody knew Saturday he was going to have a good game.&uot;

Jackson had his best night of the homestand on Saturday when he canned 22 points &045; including four 3-pointers &045; and got some key steals at times to keep Alabama State behind on the scoreboard.

On Monday, Johnson admitted, Jackson started off kind of slow before catching fire in the second half to finish with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

&uot;I came off an injury in the Valley game (Jan. 17), and I kind of battled through that all week,&uot; Jackson said. &uot;It’s pretty much 100 percent now. At first (the offense) was (difficult), but everybody’s starting to believe in what he’s trying to do. It actually started at Pine Bluff (Jan. 19). We were on a losing streak, went up there and got a W on the road.&uot;

It’s a matter of just setting up the man-to-man offense, West emphasized. At times earlier in the season players would shoot it so fast before running the offense the team would have little time to turn around and set up on defense.

Things started to click, he noted, in that 68-42 loss at Valley before the team was able to see results in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the next game.

&uot;As we’ve been talking all along, as we turn our offense over and pass the basketball, BJ is going to get more shots than he can stand to shoot,&uot; West said. &uot;He’s being patient and waiting for us to turn our offense over. He scores well for us, and that’s what we call upon him to do.&uot;

It’s given the team a boost of confidence and an improved sense of chemistry, and they’ll give it another test tonight against the Islanders, a Division I independent who fielded their first team in the 1999-2000 season, before returning to SWAC play Saturday at Southern.

But it’s A&M-Corpus; Christi that presents a unique challenge for the Braves after they dropped a 99-59 decision at A&M-CC; back on Nov. 25.

&uot;This is a game we circled on our calendars since the second game of the year,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;They beat us pretty bad, but that was our second game of the year. Our offense wasn’t there, and it was just one-on-one type stuff. But now we’ve been playing better.&uot;

The game was a nightmare of sorts for the Braves after hitting just seven shots in the first half and trailing 55-18 at the break. Guard Travis Bailey lit up Alcorn for 26 points, and his team led by 45 at one point late in the game.

Ttonight’s game could be a good measuring stick for how much the Braves have improved.

&uot;One thing my captain, Jerist Roberts, told me &045; we don’t look back,&uot; West said. &uot;That’s behind us. We look forward.&uot;