LORMAN &045; With starters DeAndre Jones and Trey Johnson out with injuries, the Alcorn State Braves gave a complete effort in fending off a feisty Golden Lion squad looking for the second win of the season and escaped with a 66-62 victory.

In the second the Braves again regained control of the momentum with a run, which gave them a 10-point advantage with 14:29 remaining. But two consecutive three pointers by Michael Kendrick boosted UAPB’s confidence as the Lions trailed, 44-40, with 13:07 left.

However, Alcorn refused to relinquish the lead, despite allowing the Lions within one point, 57-56, with three minutes left. A layup by Jamaal Bibles with 27 second to go put the Lions within a field goal of tying the game, but Myles Howard sealed the deal at the free throw line as the Braves held onto victory.

&uot;I’m so proud of the guys tonight,&uot; Alcorn head coach Samuel West said. &uot;We played without two of our best players and gave a complete team effort and overcame our mistakes.&uot;

At the start Alcorn appeared to still be suffering from a case of shell-shock from the shellacking handed to them by Mississippi Valley State on Saturday as the Braves turned the ball over on their first few possessions.

Pine Bluff (1-21,1-12) took advantage of those early miscues via taking a 6-2 lead. However, the Braves responded on the back of senior forward Dion Callans, who scored five straight points to give Alcorn its first lead of the evening, 7-6.

The Lions reclaimed the lead and a three-point advantage before the Braves went on an 11-2 tear over the span of 4:11. Sophomore guard David McCollum, who had a career night, sparked the run with five points, including the second three pointer of his career.

Nevertheless, the Lions refused to drown and kept their heads above water with an 8-0 run in 2:05 of elapsed time to get themselves back in the contest, 31-26, with 2:37 remaining in the half.

Alcorn took a four-point lead into the locker room at the break. McCollum was the only Braves in double-figures as he notched a new career-best 11 points on four-of-eight shooting from the field.