LORMAN &045; If there’s a cheat sheet to be found on how to beat Mississippi Valley, a good one would be the tape from last year’s game against Alcorn in the SWAC tournament.

Better yet, try between head coach Samuel West’s ears.

Not many teams beat the Delta Devils last season after they went 16-2 in conference, but it was the Braves who ended their dreams of turning the conference tournament into their own invitational with a first-round upset when the eighth-seeded Braves took the 67-66 win in Birmingham.

The two teams will square off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the first meeting since then, and the key is still the same.

&uot;We’ll try to stop them from scoring easy baskets and pound the ball inside,&uot; West said. &uot;They’re 2-1 in conference right now, and they’ve got a great team coming back. (Their strength is) their guards and their outside shooting.&uot;

Another key may be within the ears of the Alcorn players themselves. Similar to last season, the Braves come into the game with a heavy dose of confidence after going to Grambling Monday and taking a 72-71 win in overtime.

Last year the Braves had to fight in that last weekend to qualify as the eighth seed of the tournament, and they played their best ball in pounding Texas Southern and Prairie View to get in.

&uot;We picked up the intensity at the end,&uot; said guard Delvin Thompson, the Fayette native who leads the team in scoring at 12.8 a game. &uot;Normally we play with a team and give up. We didn’t get down and ran our offense. We knew it would come down to the last second, and I knew my boys wouldn’t give up.&uot;

Thompson was the story at the end in the win, missing a shot just before the end of regulation that would have won it before making up for it at the buzzer in overtime with a layup that did win it.

It was a far cry from two nights earlier when the Braves got out of their offense against Jackson State and suffered for it in a 70-58 loss.

&uot;We kind of came through,&uot; Thompson said. &uot;When we run the offense, it works. If you do what your coach tells you, we’ll turn out fine. And we turned out fine.&uot;

The turnover total was still problematic at Grambling as the Braves finished with 22, but a key may have been a greater inside presence. In a league that relies heavily on the guards, the Braves got production inside from Almaad Jackson in the form of 13 points and five rebounds coming off the bench.

Against Jackson State, Jackson and post Juan Wyatt combined for nine points.

&uot;They wanted it bad,&uot; West said. &uot;I give all the credit to the players. The players decided to play against Grambling. That’s been the difference. Now can we continue that? They decided to make one extra pass. They decided to grab one extra offensive rebound and make better decisions.

&uot;Even though (inside guys) fouled out early in the game, they still picked it up a lot. We played smarter and slower.&uot;

Injuries may put a damper on things Saturday, but that’s been the case for most of the season so far. DeAndre Jones, Alleo Frazier and Jerist Roberts are nursing nagging injuries, and Jones and Frazier did not attend Wednesday’s practice.

The team’s big men were slowed earlier by injuries. Jones is the team’s second-leading scorer, while Frazier has been a steady hand at point coming off the bench.

&uot;That’s what’s wrong with us,&uot; West said. &uot;We can’t be healthy at the same time.&uot;

You can bet, however, the three will play in a big game like Saturday’s. It’s the first time for Thompson, who arrived via Utah Valley College, to experience this time of game at home, the formula to be successful doesn’t change much.

The Delta Devils rely on Solomon Forbest (12.4 points per game), Hosea Butler (10.8) and freshman Sandford Speech (9.8). They are second in the conference in 3-pointers taken but are well ahead of everyone in turnovers committed.

&uot;The leadership is coming together,&uot; Thompson said. &uot;If we can come out the same way we did against Grambling, we’ll be successful.&uot;