HOUSTON, Texas &8212; Alcorn State picked the right time to earn its first victory.

Alcorn pulled away late in the second half, thanks to an 11-2 run and two technical fouls on Texas Southern, for an 84-76 victory over Texas Southern on Monday night in both teams&8217; conference opener.

It was also Alcorn&8217;s first win at Texas Southern under head coach Sam West.

&8220;It means everything,&8221; West said. &8220;It gets the monkey off our back. We scored 84 points and missed about 10 free throws, and we didn&8217;t play a great first half.

&8220;Any win is great, but a win in the conference &8212; and on the road &8212; that should give us some confidence.&8221;

Alcorn (1-0, 1-9) trailed by five at halftime, but the Braves opened the second half with four straight 3-pointers, including two by Clif Douglass.

The teams then traded the lead four times, and Alcorn took the lead for good &8212; at 64-63 &8212; when Delvin Thompson hit a free throw with 7:35 to play.

Then, Alcorn got a little help from the Tigers (2-11, 0-1). Almaad Jackson got his shot blocked, but he retrieved the ball in the left corner. He then dribbled back into the lane and nailed a baby hook while getting fouled.

After making the bucket, he and Texas Southern&8217;s Jacques Jones traded words. TSU&8217;s Christopher Moore shoved Thompson, who got between the players, and was whistled for a technical.

Douglass made the two free throws from the technical, and Jackson made the free throw to complete the three-point play.