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GARLAND, Texas — Arkansas-Pine Bluff trailed Mississippi Valley State for the final 5 ½ minutes of the game, but it seemed as if the Golden Lions would pull out another upset victory over the Delta Devils in the final moments.
Valley pulled away with four free throws made in the final 26 seconds and prevented its second loss in nine days to the Lions with a 71-64 win Friday night in a SWAC men’s basketball semifinal game. The victory put the top-seeded Devils (20-12) in tonight’s championship game against second-seeded Texas Southern, which just got past sixth-seeded Alcorn State 60-55 earlier Friday.
UAPB finished its season 11-22 and saw a five-game winning streak end. The Lions hoped to make its second conference championship game in three years, having won the 2010 title.
Amos Studivant converted a layup with 5:29 remaining to give Valley a 60-59 lead. Kevin Burwell added onto the lead with a three-point basket and Studivant scored inside the paint again to put the Devils ahead by six, but Savalace Townsend cut the margin in half with a three at the 2:41 mark.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Neither team scored again until Cor-J Cox canned a jumper with 39 seconds to go, giving Valley a 67-62 edge. UAPB could only get within 67-64 after a Townsend layup with 28 seconds left, and Valley hit 4 of 6 free throws from there.
The Lions shot 52 percent (13 of 25) from the field in the second half after a tight first half that saw the Devils take a 33-29 lead into the halftime. For the game, they hit 43.4 percent (23 of 53), including 6 of 18 three-point attempts, and made 12 of 17 from the line for 70.6 percent.
Mitchell Anderson led UAPB with 17 points and eight rebounds, Daniel Broughton had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Lazabian Jackson chipped in 11 points. Townsend had nine in his final collegiate game.
Valley was led by Cox’s 19 points and 11 boards, Paul Crosby’s 18 points and Studivant’s 14. The Devils hit 25 of 60 field-goal attempts for 41.7 percent, went 6 for 21 from the arc, and made 15 of 22 free throws.
UAPB twice led by seven points in the first half, 21-14 and 23-16. Cox had seven points in the final 3:18, including a three that gave Valley a lead it held for the rest of the period.
The game was tied 10 times, last at 45-all with 13:34 left. The lead changed hands for the next 3 minutes before Valley managed to stay in front, but UAPB went ahead again 59-58 on a Lavoris Weathers layup with 6:55 to go.
The Devils dominated the Lions inside the paint 38-24 and outscored them in second-chance (19-8) and bench (22-15) points. Each team had 11 points off turnovers.
Valley avenged a 78-67 loss in Pine Bluff on March 1 that left it one win away from an 18-0 conference record. Now, Valley gets to go for its first tournament championship since 2008 and fourth overall.
Texas Southern also has four SWAC tournament titles and last won it in 2003.