JACKSON — After scoring a couple of impressive non-conference wins, Jackson State added another in its own neighborhood.

Coltie Young made six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points as Jackson State defeated Alcorn State 88-80 in both teams’ Southwestern Athletic Conference openers on Saturday.

Young was 9 of 18 shooting (6 for 14 from 3-point range) for the Tigers (5-9, 1-0 SWAC). Jordan O’Neal scored 19 points while finishing 9 of 11 from the floor and added six rebounds. Ken Evans had 15 points.

A 3-pointer by Young was part of a 9-2 run late in the first half that gave Jackson State a 44-39 lead at halftime. The Tigers never trailed in the second half, and eventually led by as many as 17 points, 80-63, after a 3-pointer by Evans with 3:29 remaining.

The Tigers added a victory in their first SWAC game to non-conference wins against Missouri, Arkansas State, Howard and North Carolina A&T.

Alcorn went 2-for-9 from the field during a seven-minute stretch of the second half, which allowed Jackson State to pull away. The Braves were 2-for-17 from 3-point range for the game.

Alcorn (1-13, 0-1) was led by Jeremiah Kendall, who posted 17 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Djahi Binet added 15 points and six rebounds, and former Vicksburg High star Cameron Butler scored two points.

The loss is the 12th in a row for the Braves. They haven’t played a home game since beating Xavier (New Orleans) in early November, and will remain on the road for their next two against Alabama A&M on Jan. 11 and Alabama State on Jan. 13.