LORMAN — At the very least, Alcorn State football fans wanted excitement. New coach Ernest T. Jones delivered it Saturday in the season opener for the Braves.

And while Tim Buckley’s final pass overshot his tight end Channin Pugh, resulting in a 34-28 loss to Southeastern Louisiana, Jones remained upbeat in the postgame press conference.

“You know I’ve never lost here until now, but I’m excited. I think you saw the rebirth of the Alcorn State football program,” Jones said.

The opener was played at a brisk pace from the start. Four touchdowns were scored in the first nine minutes, two each by both teams. It was 21-21 at the half which ended with Southeastern’s starting quarterback Brian Babin getting knocked out by a tremendous hit from Braves’ safety Idly Etienne.

“He was out cold,” SLU coach Mike Lucas said. “I thought there was a point of emphasis this season about hits above the shoulder, but I guess not.”

Despite his displeasure of seeing his starting quarterback taken off the field, Lucas was highly complimentary of the turnaround Jones has instituted at Alcorn.

“They were a different football team today. Their schemes were good and they had a well-coached team out there,” Lucas said.

“I appreciate those comments about our program,” Jones said after hearing Lucas’ remarks.

Jones can now turn his attention toward the problems his team faces in their next nine games.

“We got to see where we are against a good non-conference team. And what I see right off is that we have got to tackle better,” Jones said. “We can’t give up big plays. We gave up too many of them today. You can’t let receivers get behind you wide open and expect to win a football game.”

Southeastern’s Andre Cryer did just that, beating three Alcorn defenders to haul in a 46-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Mike Neville on the first play of the fourth quarter. The play snapped a 21-21 tie. Ten seconds later, the Lions were up 34-21 after Alcorn tailback Devaris Pilcher fumbled and Tommy Connors returned it 14 yards for another touchdown.

Jones, though, remained undeterred.

“Absolutely, I thought we could still win the game. And we almost did, we just overshot our tight end on that last pass,” Jones said.

The big revelation for Braves’ fans was the play of Buckley, a former standout at Madison Central.

He scored on a 26-yard TD run in the first quarter. He hit Emanuel Arceneaux on a 55-yard TD pass with 25 seconds left in the first half to tie the game at 21, and Antonio DeJarnett on an 8-yard score with 4 minutes left in the game to pull the Braves to within a touchdown at 34-28.

Then he started Alcorn’s last drive with a 26-yard scramble that turned into a 41-yard gain after a 15-yard personal foul penalty was tacked on.

“Tim is a dynamic player. He’s the type of player that will pose a threat to any defense. I was pleased with how the offense played today. And we’re still very young on offense,” Jones said.

Buckley was pleased with his performance.

“I just trying to stay calm and focus on the job,” said Buckley, who was 29-of-45 passing for 288 yards and two touchdowns. “I felt confidence that we could pull out the win in those last two minutes. We just have to have a short term memory and get ready for Grambling. But I definitely feel we have much more energy on our team.”