The Southern at New Orleans (SUNO) Knights complete a remarkable run to the HBCUAC Men’s Basketball championship, beating the Tougaloo Bulldogs in an 84-81 overtime thriller.
This marks the first conference championship for the SUNO men’s basketball team since 2012, claiming the then Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (now HBCUAC) championship over Tougaloo.
The Knights ended the regular season with a 13-13 overall record, entering the HBCUAC tournament as the fourth-seed in the West division.
They took care of business in their tournament opener against Fisk, leading for nearly the entire game in a dominant 109-84 victory.
Knights run fueled by upsets
In the quarterfinals, SUNO upset the tournament host and number-one-seeded Stillman Tigers, ending their eight-game win streak with an 84-79 victory.
They secured a spot in the title game with an 82-70 win in the semifinals against Philander Smith.
After falling behind by eight points early in the first half, Southern went on a 17-7 run in eight minutes to take its first lead of the contest.
Dorian Booker and Jaylon Hicks combined for 13 of the team’s 17 points during their scoring run, punctuated by a three-pointer from the latter.
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While the Knights would not trail for the remainder of the contest, leading by as many as 12 points in the second half, the win did not come without its share of adversity.
SUNO showed championship poise
Leading 72-70 with 1:23 remaining and a chance to put the game away, Southern turned the ball over in each of their final four possessions.
The Bulldogs took full advantage of the Knights’ errors, hitting a game-tying jumper to tie the game with 23 seconds.
Tougaloo had an opportunity to go for the win in the final seconds, but missed on a go-ahead layup, forcing overtime.
Remaining tied into the final minutes, an unforced error by Tougaloo allowed SUNO an opportunity to go ahead.
Tied 81-81 with 13 seconds left, the Bulldogs committed an intentional foul despite not having any to give, sending SUNO guard Donte Briggs to the free-throw line, making both shots to go up 83-81.
On the ensuing inbounds pass after a timeout, Tougaloo was called for a five-second violation, giving the ball back to SUNO to close out the win.
