Alcorn State visits Jackson State Saturday hoping to stay close to Southern University after falling to the Jaguars last Saturday.

Southern defeated Alcorn 83-77 to pull one game ahead of the Braves.

&uot;I thought it was a real good ball game with both teams going at each other like they are supposed to when going for first place,&uot; said Alcorn coach Davey Whitney. &uot;The difference in the ball game was that we made too many turnovers and they got some easy buckets, which is uncharacteristic of our defense.&uot;

Whitney said turnovers and free throws were the difference.

&uot;When you are in a tough ball game and you’ve got two good ball clubs – one has got to win and one has got to lose,&uot; Whitney said. &uot;I don’t think Southern is better than we are, they just happened to come out in front for that particular game.&uot;

The Jackson State game starts the second half of the season for the Braves, who finished 7-2 in the first round.

&uot;When you are going into another guy’s home, they want to protect their own turf,&uot; Whitney said. &uot;It is going to be another struggle for us.&uot;

Alcorn defeated Jackson State 72-63 in their first meeting as Terrance Cameron of Port Gibson scored 22 points and had 14 rebounds.

Jackson State is 8-12 overall and 4-5 in the SWAC.

The Tigers are led by 6-foot-11 center Vincent Jones, who is averaging 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds. Guard Tommy Marks is averaging 12.3 points.

Alcorn goes to Grambling Monday.

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