LORMAN &045; Watching tape until 2 in the morning Sunday wasn’t the salve Sam West thought it might be.

Some shining moments at his mother’s birthday party in Natchez were antibiotics Sunday. However, like all good pain medication, it wore off, and West was left to smart over Saturday’s 71-64 loss his Braves suffered against Southern.

The first 31 minutes of basketball West watched from Saturday weren’t so bothersome. It was those last nine minutes that he found so cumbersome to work through.

&uot;I thought we played well (Saturday),&uot; West said. &uot;We had a 12-point lead with eight or nine minutes on the clock. Basketball is so fast-paced that you can’t call a timeout whenever there’s cause for concern. (Southern’s) press hurt us, but we didn’t pass the basketball.&uot;

The stretch-run meltdown has put Alcorn’s hopes of making the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Ala., beginning March 10 in serious jeopardy.

The Braves (8-17, 7-9 SWAC) are now tied with Southern (10-15, 7-9) for the final tourney spot, as both teams take today off before returning to league play on Thursday.

One-half game ahead of the two squads sits Prairie View, which visits Baton Rouge Thursday before making the drive up to Lorman on Saturday.

Alcorn hosts Texas Southern on Thursday.

&uot;We can’t control what Prairie View does, but if Southern beats Prairie View and we beat Prairie View, we’re in because we’ll have the tiebreaker over Prairie View,&uot; West said. &uot;We can only control our own destiny. If we win both, we’re in. That’s what we’re trying to do.&uot;

The Braves also need Southern to lose one of its remaining games, as the Jags hold the edge over Alcorn with its season sweep against the Braves.

An exasperated West dismissed his team after meeting with them briefly after Saturday’s loss. The first-year head coach along with the players and fans were left wondering how the Braves could have gone from the penthouse to the outhouse so rapidly on Saturday.

A closely-played first half, in which there was seven lead changes &045; six in the first five minutes &045; and four ties, gave way to a laugher in the second half’s opening 11 minutes.

Alcorn stormed out to a 51-39 advantage by the 9:08 mark thanks to accurate perimeter shooting and Southern’s abandonment of its interior game with 6-7 post Deon Sanders.

&uot;Let’s say inexperience,&uot; West said, in giving reasons for the self-destruction late in the game. &uot;The bottom line is that it does come down to inexperience. A lack of leadership and inexperience.&uot;

The Jaguars finally altered their half-court offense by returning to their bread and butter in Sanders, who powered his way for 22 points.

Southern outscored the Braves 30-18 in the paint, 16 of those came in the second half compared to just eight for Alcorn.

However, West’s biggest beef concerned his team’s insistence on deserting the method that got them the lead in the first place.

&uot;It’s my responsibility to try to teach roles and find innovative ways to push the right buttons,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s still my responsibility and I shoulder it. That’s the bottom line. I’ve got to find ways to get it done.&uot;

The final nine minutes Saturday were a polar opposite compared to the quick start Alcorn began the second half with.

The Braves coughed up the ball a

total of 17 times in the game, which Southern was able to turn into 22 points.

&uot;To see those seven straight trips with three turnovers and four bad shots and know what we did before that, it’s disheartening,&uot; West said. &uot;We’ll keep fighting to make the tournament because this can change any day or any game.&uot;

With only three seniors suiting up for West this season, he is well aware the future looks bright for Alcorn.

However, he’s not caught up in crystal balls at the moment. That stuff may be profitable for palm readers and tarot card readers, but it gives him no peace of mind to look ahead.

&uot;Next year it’s going to be a totally different story, but we live in the present,&uot; West said. &uot;We’ve tried to be innovative every week. We’ve tried approaches every week that are different. We’ll try and come up more ways to prepare for Thursday.&uot;