GARLAND, TEXAS — Mississippi Valley State built an 18-point lead and then withstood a furious Texas Southern comeback to beat the Tigers 71-69 tonight and win the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Valley (21-12), the regular-season SWAC champion, won three games in four days here to claim the league’s automatic bid into the Big Dance, but none of the wins came easily.
Not even this one, in which the Delta Devils led by 18 midway through the second half and still led by 16, 63-47, with 4:35 left. That’s when the Panthers started their furious rally.
Led by Omar Strong, who led all scorers with 30 points, TSU cut it to three, 67-64, with 54 seconds left. That’s when MVSU freshman Brent Arrington made his biggest shot of the season, a 3-pointer from the corner with the shot-clock winding down, to give Valley a six-point cushion with 24 seconds left. A 3-pointer at the buzzer by Strong made the final margin two, but that’s as close as the Tigers could get.
PHOTO GALLERY: MVSU - Texas Southern
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