The return ride from the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., with the Alcorn State men Saturday was a stark contrast from how the Braves entered the Magic City on Tuesday.

However, some may see it as a fitting parallel to Alcorn’s abrupt end in the Fair Park Arena with an 83-81 semifinal loss to Alabama A&M, the eventual runner-up to rival Alabama State, who the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee rewarded with a 16th-seed and Duke as its opponent Thursday.

Compared to the plush charter bus we boarded Tuesday, I couldn’t tell if our wheels back to Lorman were destined for a 1960s protest rally or if we had somehow landed a gig with the Partridge Family.

The mood, which seemed so bulletproof and confident as we left Tuesday, was solemn for most of the miles, dampened by Friday’s heartbreaking loss.

As head coach Sam West waited patiently for his troops to load their bags outside the downtown Birmingham Radisson, he stared blankly through the sun-soaked concrete, obviously still contemplating DeAndre Jones’ last-second missed layup and questioning why the referees refused to blow their whistles when Jones, then Dion Callans were blatantly fouled in the waning moments.

It wasn’t until we reached Vicksburg for dinner at McDonald’s did things perk up. Guys climbed back aboard the cherry-and-white bus, cracking jokes on one another, anticipating the Reservation was less than an hour away.

It was surreal throwing my oversized duffel bag into the back of my car as we all departed from one another, as the bus bustled out of there (apparently, it had a to pick up a gang at some concert in Woodstock, N.Y.).

I had filled that piece of luggage with T-shirts, slacks, dress shirts, jackets and sweaters for at least a week for two reasons.

One was apparently it turns out I’m a woman and have way too many clothes and like to overpack so that I can coordinate like my hero, Mississippi Valley State head coach Lafayette Stribling, who has literally more than 200 suits.

My second factor for toting so much attire was I saw this team play all season and I realized the best ball the Braves had played all season was in the final week of the regular season.

I truly believed they could get on a run in the SWAC Tournament, win the whole enchilada and the next stop would mimic what Alabama State is getting ready to do &045; i.e. have its teeth kicked in after the Blue Devils lost their bid for a sixth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title in overtime to Maryland.

After that Friday night when the 696 in attendance were witness to a miracle win over Valley &045; miracle in the sense that the Devils had beaten Alcorn by an average of 26.5 points in two games during the regular season &045; I thought the Braves’ road to hoe had already been plowed.

But, it turned out, there weren’t enough rabbits to pull out of hats in the Magic City.

Chuck Corder

is a sports writer for The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at (601) 445-3633 or at

chuck.corder@natchezdemocrat.com.