BIRMINGHAM, Ala. &045; Terry Horton said after Thursday’s quarterfinal win over Grambling State he wanted the champs.

Alabama A&M, like most Southwestern Athletic Conference teams during the regular season, were swept by Mississippi Valley State, and the 6-3 senior from Ozark, Ala., wanted revenge.

Horton’s wish got spoiled when eighth-seeded Alcorn State upset the top dog Devils Friday.

It didn’t seem to matter, as the pure shooter lit up the Braves for 24 points, including four 3-pointers, but Alcorn nearly spoiled the party for the Bulldogs with some late heroics in the SWAC Tournament semifinals Friday.

Alcorn’s DeAndre Jones had his layup attempt pinned in the corner of the rim and no foul was called, as the Braves’ season ended in the cruelest of ways with a 83-81 loss.

It’s an intrastate championship final at 7 p.m. today, as the Bulldogs (13-16) advanced to face Alabama State, a 59-56 double overtime winner against Jackson State Friday.

&uot;It was perfect,&uot; a emotional Braves head coach Sam West said of the final play. &uot;DeAndre brought the basketball down, stutter-stepped, went to the goal and did get fouled. Dion (Callans) rebounded and he got fouled too. I understand the refs can’t decide the game, but the play was perfect. We just didn’t get the call.&uot;

A&M took its biggest lead of the night at 72-59 when it appeared Horton had put the exclamation point on the game with a one-handed flush off a run-out.

However, those darn Braves (11-18) showed poise despite staring into what seemed like as an insurmountable deficit.

Trey Johnson, whose 22 was second best to Brian Jackson’s 23 points for the Braves, nailed a trey with 56.4 seconds left, bringing Alcorn within two possessions, 77-71.

&uot;Our lead evaporated because Alcorn made up their mind they didn’t want to be denied,&uot; Bulldogs head coach Vann Pettway said. &uot;Every three was contested. They hit some great shots. The NBA would’ve been proud because all of those were NBA 3s. None were from the college line.&uot;

A Jones’ triple made it 80-75 with 22.3 seconds remaining. Johnson dialed up another bomb, cutting the deficit to one possession, 81-78, with 18.7 seconds after Rickey Ricketts made just one of two free throws.

After Lorenzo Burks went 1 of 2 from the stripe once again for A&M, Jones stroked a 24-footer, slicing further into the gap, 82-81, with seven seconds left in the game.

&uot;If you can’t learn how to overcome obstacles, then you’ll never amount to anything,&uot; West said. &uot;We believed. I’ve never seen it work that perfectly, but we practice on that.&uot;

After a two-minute stretch where Alcorn was a perfect 5 for 5 from the arc, West decided to isolate Jones on the last play, go for the deuce and possibly a foul, instead of dialing long distance again.

&uot;I was happy when he went past the 3-point line because I knew they couldn’t win it,&uot; Pettway said. &uot;If there was a mistake made on that last play, it was going for two. I’m being facetious, but when you think about it, it’s true.&uot;

As Jones shot fell from the iron crevice and Callans couldn’t get a decent follow off, the buzzer sounded and various Braves buried their sad mugs into the Fair Park Arena hardwood.

&uot;I wanted to bring some of them in here (postgame press conference), but my players couldn’t get up,&uot; West said. &uot;I didn’t want to expose them to that. This is the beginning of good things to come.&uot;

A&M’s magnificent sophomore guard Obie Trotter led the ‘Dogs with 26 points, but did all the little things at managing the game.

An All-SWAC first teamer, Trotter handed out six assists, carved through Alcorn’s press and committed one turnover.

&uot;I knew I had to be the calming influence especially during the game when Alcorn came back,&uot; Trotter said. &uot;A lot of my teammates were panicking. They hit some 3s and the game got close. We had to keep our composure and knock the free throws down.&uot;