Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament: No. 5 Jackson State ripped No. 4 Alabama State 83-65 to move into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals against No. 1 Southern. Trey Johnson scored 26 points to lead the Tigers, who hit five second-half three-pointers to help bury the Hornets. Jackson State led by 12 points at halftime and never let Alabama State pull close.
No Rush was no problem for No. 3 Grambling State, which beat No. 6 Mississippi Valley 5-49 without SWAC Player of the Year Brion Rush, who missed the game with a foot injury. Senior forward Jamar Lewis scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Tigers. The Delta Devils missed an opportunity to tie on a free throw or win on a jump shot in the final 20 seconds. The Tigers will play No. 7 Arkansas – Pine Bluff.
No. 7 Arkansas – Pine Bluff pulled off the biggest upset of the quarterfinals with a 64-54 win against No. 2 Alabama A&M. Junior forward William Byrd led the Golden Lions with 21 points to knock off the defending SWAC champions.
The conference frontrunner started its march to the NCAA Tournament with a win. Southern ended the season of No. 8 Alcorn State with a 73-52 win in the quarterfinals. Of the remaining teams in the field, only Grambling beat the Jaguars in the regular season; the rest are 0-4 vs. Southern. [3/09/06]
