[03/07/01] LORMAN The Alcorn State Braves didn’t waste any time grabbing the Jackson State Tigers by the tail and whipping them around the Whitney Complex Tuesday night.

Alcorn (14-14) got seven 3-pointers from seven different players and held JSU to just 25 percent shooting in the first half while building a 25-point halftime edge, then cruised to a 102-76 win in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.

“We missed a lot of opportunities, and they just came out and took advantage of it,” said JSU’s Richard Bradley, who led the Tigers with a game-high 29 points and nine rebounds. “Once they got rolling, it was hard to get it stopped.”

Alcorn will face Texas Southern in the second round Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Texas Southern, the tournament’s No. 7 seed, upset No. 2 seed Mississippi Valley State 59-58 on Tuesday.

Alcorn beat Texas Southern handily in both meetings this season, including a 71-55 win in Houston on Thursday.

“It’s a short time to prepare for a team you just beat, but we’re going to do the best we can,” Alcorn coach Davey Whitney said.

Marcus Fleming led five Braves in double figures with 20 points and eight rebounds against JSU. Jason Cable added 17 points, Tori Harris had 11 and Jeff Cammon and Brian Jackson had 10 each.

Former Hinds AHS star Kendall Royal had 17 points and five assists for Jackson State.

Alcorn shot 52.2 percent and hit 10 3-pointers in the game, but blew the Tigers away early.

Under constant pressure from a suffocating Alcorn defense, JSU (7-23) hit just one of its first 10 shots. The Braves, meanwhile, hit five of their first seven 3-pointers and jumped out to a 23-4 lead with 11 minutes to play in the first half.

“I thought we shot very well. When you shoot 70 percent on 3s, you’re shooting pretty good. But I think that came because of our defense,” Whitney said.

Alcorn continued to press and score from everywhere, burying the Tigers by the break. Devin Pack finished the first half, fittingly, with a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining to give the Braves a 50-25 halftime lead.

Alcorn led by as many as 29 early in the second half before the Tigers finally rallied. JSU used a 12-4 run midway through the second half to cut it to 64-43 with 12:45 to play, but could never get closer than 19 points.

“We don’t have the kind of players we had last year, that could play when it wasn’t organized street ball if they had to,” said JSU coach Andy Stoglin, who took his team to the SWAC title and the NCAA Tournament last season. “We played raggedy, because they made us play raggedy.”

(W) Alcorn 81, UAPB 53

Alcorn led by just four points at halftime, 25-21, but hit 69.2 percent of its shots in the second half and held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to just 32.1 percent shooting to rout the Golden Lionettes in the first round of the women’s SWAC Tournament.

Cherea Wood led Alcorn (19-10) with 16 points and nine rebounds, Tyiesha Robinson added 11 points and Queriston Haynes and Daisha Reed had 10.

Former Vicksburg High standout Rejohnna Anthony had two points and two assists in six minutes for Alcorn.