LORMAN &045; The old card player who stomped across this floor for more than 30 years and whose name is tattooed to the building would flash one of those famous scowls if he saw a hand liked this.

Davey Whitney was never an oracle for optimism. And the end result Saturday only meant the chips Alcorn is playing with decreased and pushed the Braves further from the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament table.

Alcorn’s 12-point, second-half lead dissolved into a 71-64 Southern victory, as the Jaguars scored 32 points during the final 9:08.

The loss dropped the Braves (8-17, 7-9 SWAC) into a tie with Southern (10-15, 7-9) for eighth place and the final SWAC tournament spot, which begins next month.

&uot;I thought we were on our way,&uot; Alcorn head coach Sam West. &uot;All of a sudden we started to play selfishly and not team basketball. That was the difference.&uot;

Deon Sanders would have a good argument as a difference maker. The 6-7 forward bullied whoever Alcorn threw at him down low, whether that was a senior in Dion Callans or a freshman in Jefferson County’s Juan Wyatt.

Sanders finished with a game-high 22 points to lead the Jags in double digits, as Timothy Johnson added 19.

&uot;That played to our advantage,&uot; Southern head coach Michael Grant said. &uot;My coaches at halftime told me that freshman couldn’t guard Deon on the post. So with about 15 minutes left, we moved Peter (Cipriano) out and Deon low.&uot;

Short on time and points, the Braves had Southern pinned with two seconds showing on the shot clock after the ball went out off an Alcorn player underneath the Jags’ basket.

However, Johnson hauled in an inbounds pass and his 3-point prayer was answered, giving Southern a six-point lead, 66-60, with 1:23 left.

Including the triple, Johnson scored the final eight points for the Jags, as the Braves went into foul mode in an attempt to get back in a contest they had controlled in the not-so-distant past.

&uot;That type of energy we had in the last 10 minutes of the game, our guys responded well,&uot; Grant said. &uot;(Alcorn) couldn’t match that intensity. They got flustered. I’m very proud of our team’s effort tonight.&uot;

Alcorn was held scoreless for more than a seven-minute stretch to close the first and start the second 20.

A Sanders’ bucket off the low block put Southern ahead 32-31 with 19:26 left &045; the first time the Jags had been ahead since the 12:56 mark of the first half.

However, the Braves answered with five straight to reclaim the lead, and moved ahead by five, 41-36, when Trey Johnson connected on a pair of free throws with 13:51 to play.

Johnson and Brian Jackson led Alcorn with 17 points apiece.

&uot;(Alcorn) hit some tough shots tonight,&uot; Grant said. &uot;Some of them surprised me because they were off-balance. But overall that was a great defensive effort by us.&uot;

After Southern’s Brandon Wardlow hit a pair at the free-throw line, Johnson responded with back-to-back triples.

The six straight gave the Braves their biggest lead, 51-39, with less than 10 minutes to play.

Alcorn went on a string of cold cards even Whitney would fold, yielding a 10-0 run to Southern before a Jackson triple put the Braves up 54-49 with 6:03 remaining.

&uot;It didn’t have anything to do with (Southern) offensively,&uot; West said. &uot;Sanders did a good job of scoring, but we turned the ball over too many times. We matched them in transition, but we took some crazy shots down the stretch. You can’t win like that.&uot;

The Jags pulled within one on two occasions during the next two minutes before it was Jackson again, who quieted his hometown’s school once again by canning another 3 with 3:49 left.

After Sanders tied the game at 59s, Southern took its first lead since the 19:22 mark when Wardlow stole a wayward pass off the press and took it in for a layup with 2:32 to go.

Wardlow put the Jags up 63-60 when he recovered his own fumble and dumped in two amid a crowded lane 30 seconds later.

&uot;The plan was to get the ball in Deon’s hands every time down the floor,&uot; Grant said. &uot;If we have to play him for 40 minutes, then I’ll ride my horse all the way. When our backs are against a wall, he can’t come out of the game. Everybody is concerned with whatever he’s doing.&uot;

The first half saw the lead change hands seven times, including six in the first five minutes, and four ties during the first half.

The Braves took the lead outright when Johnson buried his first 3 of the night with 11:08, giving Alcorn an 18-15 lead.