Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Recap
by Neal Heston
Alabama A&M cruises to NCAA Tournament
Two games separated first-place Alabama A&M and sixth-place Southern when the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament began on Friday, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that four of the seven games this weekend were decided by eight points or less. The three games that weren’t at all close involved the Alabama A&M Bulldogs, as the team rolled to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and first overall postseason appearance since 1997.
The Bulldogs cruised past Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the quarterfinals, 64-52, had no trouble in a 74-56 blowout of Jackson State in the semifinals, and then finished the tournament by pushing around second-seed Alabama State 72-53 in the championship on Sunday.
Alabama A&M will play Oakland (12-18) Tuesday night for the right to move into the field of 64 and clinch a date with North Carolina this Friday.
Obie Trotter scored 24 points in the tournament championship after nailing an amazing 8-of-10 shots from beyond the arc to lead the Bulldogs. The junior guard will need to assemble a new trophy case, as his performance earned him SWAC Tournament MVP. Trotter already boasts the SWAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Kevin Spicer scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Alabama State, who completed the season with a 15-15 mark.
Alabama State had a rockier road to the championship after squeezing past Southern in the semifinals, 54-50, and Prarie View A&M in the quarterfinals, 64-56.
