LORMAN &045; You couldn’t really blame anyone when the questions started coming.

The Alcorn State Braves have struggled so far this season, and the loss at home to then-winless Prairie View A&M two nights ago didn’t help things. It left the coaching staff sounding like used car salesmen trying to convince everyone things aren’t as bad as they seem.

There’s no convincing now after Wednesday night.

Not only did the Braves register their first conference win Wednesday with a 72-67 victory over Texas Southern, but they had to absolutely fight to get back in it. Down by 15 in the second half, the Braves clawed back to show everyone they’re not as bad as people may have thought.

&uot;That’s the tough part &045; you think you have what it takes to be successful, especially in conference,&uot; Alcorn assistant coach Jason Cable said. &uot;We’re used to a winning tradition at Alcorn. When you lose that first game at home, people start asking questions.

&uot;(Head) coach (Samuel) West said it’s really our team against the world. We’ve got to band together no matter what people are saying about us.&uot;

The win was one for the Braves to indeed savor, and it gives them plenty momentum heading into the road swing this weekend at Jackson State Saturday and at Grambling Monday. The Braves did it the way the coaching staff had been preaching all along &045; cut down the turnovers, run the offense and just play unselfish ball.

&uot;The night before last should have been our first win, but unfortunately we lost that one,&uot; guard Alleo Frazier said. &uot;To get that second win (of the year) and first win in SWAC, hopefully it’ll snowball and we’ll get a couple of wins under our belts. Hopefully this will be a plus for us, and we can prepare for the Jackson game.&uot;

Emotions in the Texas Southern locker room were the polar opposite as the Tigers dropped their second straight conference game after losing to Southern Monday. The Tigers controlled the first half and the first eight minutes of the second half before the wheels came off.

Texas Southern head coach Ronnie Courtney declined to speak to the media or release an assistant for comment.

&uot;Coach was saying to keep playing hard,&uot; said Frazier, who nailed four clutch free throws in the final 42 seconds and finished with 11 points. &uot;I don’t know &045; the ball was going our way. Every loose ball we got. Fortunately, we got back in the game.&uot;

The Braves fell behind 53-38 with 12:19 left in the game before answering quickly with a three-point play from Almaad Jackson in what may have been a momentum changer. But Frazier came back a minute later with a 3-pointer, and the two plays started a 13-2 run that included another 3-pointer from Delvin Thompson.

DeAndre Jones got fouled on a bucket with 9:13 left and missed the shot, but the went out of bounds off a Texas Southern player. So the Braves ran an inbounds play from under the basket, and Juan Wyatt cashed in on the play to trim the lead to 55-51.

&uot;Our hard work is finally paying off,&uot; Cable said. &uot;It was going to be a close game, but we finally got it together. We’ve been in situations where we were close but never able to get over the hump. Tonight we got close, and we were able to get over the hump and pull out a victory. Cutting down the turnovers was critical for us. When we have the ball, they cadn’t score.&uot;

The Braves then kept the Tigers quiet on the other end for the first time all game after guards Sean Walker and Mike Sneed continued to hurt them with the 3-pointer. The two combined for 40 points, but only nine of those points came in the final 8 1/2 minutes.

Walker hit a 3-pointer with 8:58 left for a 58-51 lead, but the Braves kept pecking away. Wyatt converted a three-point play, and Thompson nailed another 3-pointer at the 7:02 mark to trim the lead to 61-59.

Thompson finished with 24 points thanks to four 3-pointers.

Jones tossed in a basket off a pass from Frazier to tie it up 30 seconds later, the Tigers were called for a 10-second backcourt violation on the next possession and Jones put in a short jumper at the 5:33 mark for a 63-61 lead.

&uot;We ran a little bit of zone,&uot; Frazier said. &uot;We went man, and after the second or third possession we’d go zone. We kept throwing different defenses at them to keep them on their heels. We put a hand in their face and blocked out. We didn’t give them second shots.&uot;

The Braves did little of that early in the second half as the Tigers built a lead in the first five minutes thanks to the 3-pointer. Sneed hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the lead at 44-36, and Jason Arbet followed with a basket for a 10-point lead.

Justin Wilson hit a 3-pointer later and followed it with a two for a 53-38 lead with 12:19 left.

&uot;Coach West really just told us their guards were the key to their team,&uot; Cable said. &uot;Their big men averaged 10 points combined. Coming into conference play, Coach West said guards are the key to every team in conference.&uot;