LORMAN — When the clock ticked down to zero at the end of the fourth quarter, Prairie View A&M rushed the field in celebration.

The Panthers’ 34-14 win against Alcorn State Saturday clinched them their first ever Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division championship — and the Braves players had to watch the opposing team celebrate in their home stadium, in their final home game of the season.

Alcorn head coach Earnest Collins, however, said was happy his players were forced to take in that moment.

“I’m glad they got a chance to see them celebrate, so that they’ll never want to see that happen here again,” Collins said.

In a game where the Braves had 386 yards of total offense compared to the Panthers’ 421, the difference ended up being red zone execution. The Panthers were 5-for-5 in scoring when they got inside the 20, compared to the Braves’ going 1-for-3 in scoring in the red zone.

“The difference between them and us was, they executed in pivotal moments,” Collins said. “They just buckled down and executed, and we didn’t.

“I’m not one to make excuses, but you can have all the yards up and down the field you want, but if you don’t score, it doesn’t matter.”

The Panthers were the first to strike after opening kickoff. Prairie View drove down the field and scored when Panthers quarterback KJ Black hit Marlon Allen with a 17-yard touchdown pass with 11:22 to go in the first quarter.

Prairie View scored again in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Michael Jason, and later on a 6-yard catch by Allen.

Perhaps no play symbolized the Braves’ struggles in the red zone better than what happened with a little over a minute to go before the half. Alcorn broke a long run all the way to the Panthers’ 1-yard line, and tried to punch it in for the score. However, Alcorn’s Arnold Walker fumbled the ball in the end zone, and the Panthers recovered with 1:12 to go before the half, allowing them to go into the half up 21-0.

The Braves’ first touchdown of the game came in the second half, when Anto DeJarnett recovered a blocked punt in the end zone with 8:46 left in the third.

The Panthers scored their next touchdown in the fourth quarter, on a 5-yard run by Donald Babers with 12:23 to go.

Alcorn’s one trip to the red zone that resulted in points came with 5:19 to go in the fourth quarter. On fourth down, Braves quarterback Tim Buckley completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Edward Johnson.

The Braves then attempted the onsides kick, but Prairie View recovered at their own 33. The Panthers had no problem driving the ball down a short field, and scored their final touchdown on a 3-yard run by Brandon Bell with 41 seconds left in regulation.

Alcorn was penalized 11 times for 78 yards, something Collins said played a key part in the outcome of the game.

“We had too many penalties and miscues to come out on top,” Collins said.

“Are (the Panthers) better than us? That remains to be seen, but they got the job done. My hat goes off to Coach (Henry) Frazier.”

Alcorn fell to 2-6 on the season, 2-4 in SWAC play.