HAMMOND, La. &045; Sure is funny how Alcorn’s defense is finally developing an identity.

It took a non-conference game against the best passing team in all of I-AA to really pull together and show what kind of talent the defense has. The Braves did what it couldn’t do against Southern University last week by stopping the run, preventing the big play and coming up with key interceptions late in the game to take a 33-27 win over Southeastern Louisiana.

Three interceptions and many huge stops in the red zone were enough to just leave Strawberry Stadium feeling awfully proud.

&uot;When they came to us last year, they said they shouldn’t have lost the game,&uot; said Alcorn safety Jeffrey Hobbs, who had the last interception. &uot;We came to prove we’re as good a team as we say we are. The defense wasn’t playing as well and the offense wasn’t playing as well in the first half, but in the second half we clicked as a team.&uot;

The secondary stepped up and contained Southeastern’s high-powered passing attack, even though quarterback Martin Hankins finished with 374 yards passing for the game. Yet he and the offense couldn’t finish up two drives late, and the Braves’ passing game with senior Donald Carrie may have performed just as well if not better.

Carrie threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns, but the offense finished the game with no turnovers.

And the win wasn’t any less enjoyable despite Alabama State’s 24-20 win over Alabama A&M to all but clinch the Eastern Division title in the SWAC for the Hornets.

&uot;This was a huge win for us after coming off a heart-wrenching decision to Southern University,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;We believed we played very well. Mathematically (the A&M loss) puts us out of the race for the Eastern Division race, but I don’t know who they’re playing next.

&uot;You can’t rely on other people to take care of your business for you, and we learned that last year. Our focus is on our last three games, and we’ll be thankful for whatever we get.&uot;

The Braves had to fight from a 23-20 deficit to start the fourth quarter against the Lions, and that may be what made the win more enjoyable. Just like last year against Southeastern, the Braves got two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead.

Carrie hit Johnny Washington on a 7-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 23-20 lead. The Lions were forced to punt on their next possession, and return man Lonnie Teagle brought the kick back all the way to the SLU 21.

Carrie then hit Nate Hughes for a 19-yard pass to set up Michael Shepherd’s 2-yard run for a touchdown for a 30-20 lead with 13:04 left.

&uot;We just looked like a team coming off a bye week,&uot; SLU head coach Hal Mumme said. &uot;I didn’t coach very well, and we didn’t play very well. I don’t want to take anything away from Alcorn. My hat’s off to Coach Thomas. He did a great job coaching tonight.&uot;

The Lions with Hankins and the passing game came out firing on the next drive and got it to the Alcorn 21, but that’s when Taurian Parks came up with an interception at the 9 to end the threat.

Alcorn punted on its next drive, but the Lions stalled out to a fourth-and-2 at their 43. Hankins ran up the middle on a keeper, but the Braves stopped him to turn it over on downs.

That set up David McConnell’s 37-yard field goal for a 33-20 lead, and the Lions came back firing again. Six plays later they got to the Alcorn 28, but Hankins had a pass picked off by Hobbs just inside the end zone.

&uot;We came up with some key interceptions that helped us,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;The defense came up big when we had to come up big. Overall we had a valiant effort on the defensive side of the ball, a valiant effort on the offensive side of the ball and we did a super job on special teams.&uot;

The Braves struggled on their first four possessions of the game and could not get a first down on the first three, but Carrie and the passing game found a rhythm at the start of the second quarter.

They got on the board with a 37-yard field goal from David McConnell, but a 31-yard pass from Carrie to Nate Hughes got the Braves down to the SLU 35 in the following drive. Carrie hit Hughes for 20 yards to get to the 3, and Jeremy McCoy finished it out with a 3-yard touchdown run for a 10-7 lead.

The Braves’ defense then pinned Southeastern deep, and a short punt put Alcorn starting at the SLU 25. Three plays later Carrie hit Marcus McFarland on an 11-yard touchdown pass for a 17-7 lead with 3:07 left in the second.

The Lions punched it in right before the half when Hankins kept it on a 1-yard keeper to cut it to 17-14.