Alcorn State looked flawless for the opening 30 minutes, before appearing vulnerable in the final moments.

However, ASU made just enough plays down the stretch to hold off Southern University’s late surge 74-64 in SWAC action Saturday.

“We just wanted to control the tempo, and I thought we did that,” Alcorn coach Montez Robinson said.

The Braves led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but the Jaguars wouldn’t go down quietly, cutting the deficit to as little as seven with one minute remaining.

Reginal Johnson led Alcorn with 20 points in just 28 minutes of action off the bench.

“I just want to come in the game and raise the tempo,” Johnson said. “I’m fresher than the rest of the guys on the court, and I try to take advantage of it.”

The 6-foot-5 junior forward connected on two 3-pointers in addition to pulling down seven rebounds and handing out two assists.

“He can really score the ball, but he doesn’t get enough credit for his versatility and how well he passes,” Robinson said. “He’s my sixth man, but he’s my sixth starter. He’s getting starter minutes, starter touches and he’s rebounding. I’m blessed to have him.”

The win for Alcorn (8-11, 5-3) gives the Braves sole possession of second place in the conference because of the tiebreaker over Southern (9-12, 5-3).

“I’m very pleased with the first nine games,” Robinson said. “A couple of games didn’t go our way, but I can’t complain. I’m pleased with the effort the guys are giving.”

The Braves have now won four conference games in a row, including two on the road this past week, after alternating wins and losses through its first four conference games.

“We’re starting to base our game on defense,” Johnson said. “Once we get defensive stops, it leads to easy offense, and that allows us to get rolling quicker.”

Alcorn’s key advantage Saturday came from distance, as it knocked down 12 of 28 3-pointers. Southern hit just 2 of 13 shots from 3, with the two makes coming in the game’s final three minutes. Both of Southern’s 3-point makes came from Shawn Prudhomme, who finished with a team-high 16 points.

“We wanted to take that away from them,” Robinson said. “The last few minutes, we lost him (Prudhomme). He’s going to knock down those wide open 3s.”

ASU limited SU to just 37.8 percent in the first half, but the Jaguars managed to get back in the game by flipping the script and holding the Braves to 36 percent shooting in the second period.

A.J. Mosby had 12 points and four assists for the Braves, while center DeAndre Davis chipped in with 10 points, nine rebounds and three electrifying blocked shots.

Alcorn won’t take the floor again until next Feb. 4 when it hosts in-state rival Jackson State. The Braves defeated the Tigers 63-50 earlier this month in Jackson.

“We’re going to come in and work hard, like we always do,” Johnson said. “We’re going to prepare how we’ve been preparing.”