LORMAN &045; Alcorn head coach Samuel West hates that the season has been this way, but it’s just one long journey.

A long season of twists and turns, high and lows and everything in between. The Braves have had more of that this season than The Natchez Trace, even after last week’s impressive win over Southern when they put together maybe their most complete game of the year.

Now it’s a matter of keeping it together. The Braves host Jackson State in the first of a two-game homestand at 7:30 p.m. today.

&uot;It’s a process that just takes time,&uot; West said. &uot;Coaches have to continue to coach, and players have to step up to the plate and play. Our fans are eager. They can see glimpses of good play, but they are eager to see us open the faucets and turn it on because we keep teasing them. We play good and bad.&uot;

Those in attendance last week caught a good glimpse of how good the Braves can play. They got solid play from Juan Wyatt and others inside to complement the guard play in a 69-67 win over the Jaguars for perhaps the first time all season.

Wyatt finished with 10 points and seven rebounds against the Jags, the most since putting up 11 points and eight rebounds against Texas Southern.

&uot;I just worked harder and harder in practice,&uot; said Wyatt, the former Jefferson County standout. &uot;Coach told me to bring practice to the game, and that’s what I did, honestly. I just came out there with energy and tried to keep the intensity up. We have to control the boards and score in the paint. As long as we do that, we’ll win.&uot;

The production inside may have been welcomed with open arms for a team that’s relied heavily on guards DeAndre Jones and Delvin Thompson to do the scoring in the guard-heavy Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Braves were better than Southern in points in the paint with 30 to the Jags’ 28.

Almaad Jackson tossed in 15 points, and the Braves &045; last in the conference in offensive rebounding at 33.1 per game &045; out-rebounded Southern 40-33.

&uot;They’re coming along,&uot; Jones said. &uot;We can only ask for them to do so much playing with their back to the basket and getting beat up down there. They’re playing well. (Landfair) played well, and Almaad played well. I think we’ll be all right down low. It’s a big plus. Us as guards and wing players, knowing we’ve got help on the back side and scoring from the inside, the pressure will be off us because we’ve got an inside presence.&uot;

The Braves hope to keep it going this weekend and the rest of the season. When things have been at their worst this season, it’s been the result of little production from the inside, all scoring from the perimeter and turnovers that lead to easy buckets for the opposition.

Just take their last meeting with Jackson State. Jones and Thompson combined for 39 points &045; well more than half the team’s total &045; in the team’s 70-58 loss. Wyatt, Landfair and Jackson combined for 11.

Then at Alabama A&M, the Braves were out-rebounded 50-38. Wyatt, Landfair and Jackson combined for 15 points.

&uot;For the first time all year, we got better production in the paint,&uot; West said. &uot;That’s a very good thing. The post players made baskets they normally fumble or they miss or they throw away. They made easy baskets inside. We moved the ball better. DeAndre stepped up for us, and Delvin was solid. Our guard play was solid.&uot;

For the 6-8 Wyatt, it still may be an adjustment period for a guy who dominated at the high school level. Wyatt earned considerable amounts of playing time last year as a freshman with 19 starts and appeared in 27 of the team’s 29 games.

Wyatt battled foul trouble at times and ended the season averaging just under three points and three rebounds a game. After Saturday’s game he’s averaging 5.6 points and 3.8 boards per game.

&uot;I just worked harder in practice, and coach told me to carry it to the game,&uot; Wyatt said. &uot;It’s way more physical. That (10 points a game) is what I’m shooting for. Every practice coach is pushing me.&uot;

Said Jones: &uot;He’s a streaky player. If you get him going early, he’ll have a good game. If he can stay away from fouling, he’ll have a good game. He gets into foul trouble, and he doesn’t get a chance to show what he can do.&uot;

The team needs Wyatt and the others inside to maintain that level of play tonight and from here on out. The Braves are sandwiched in the middle of the standings in the SWAC at 4-5 (Southern is 5-4, and three teams are at 4-5) as the second round of conference play begins tonight.

&uot;After (tonight), I’ll tell you,&uot; West said. &uot;Right now, I don’t know. I’m hopeful and will stay positive that it’s going to work out for the good. It will make all the difference in the world if we dominate inside. We thought we had all the pieces to the puzzle. The next couple of games will tell us if we’ve arrived yet.&uot;