The Braves scored 30 points in the paint and got 19 points from their bench but Southern came out with the victory tonight at the Davey L. Whitney Complex 65-56.
Southern opened the game with a 9-2 advantage within the first five minutes.
LeAntwan Luckett gave the Braves their first lead of the night 10-9Â at the 10:21 mark of the first half.
Michael Davis got into the action hitting back-to-back jumpers to increase the Braves lead to 20-16.
Southern took a 28-24 halftime lead into the locker room.
The game stayed closely tight throughout the first parts of the second half. Southern turned the game around at the 7:45 mark when they took their largest lead of the game 52-41.
The Braves didn't go out without a fight.Â
Reginald Johnson scored nine of the Braves next 14 points to put the Braves within one, 56-55 with 3:33 to go.
But the Braves were outscored 10-1 in the last three minutes of the game.
Johnson and Davis each scored 15 points while Luckett chipped in 12 points on the night.
The Braves play rival Jackson State next Saturday at 5:00 p.m. following the women's game.
