Justin Patton scored 25 points to lead Grambling State to a 65-62 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Thursday in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.
Donald Qualls added 14 points and Lance Feurtado had 11 for the sixth-seeded Tigers (11-20), who will face No. 2 seed Jackson State in the semifinals Friday.
Paul Crosby scored 16 points for the Delta Devils (13-19) and Terrence Joyner had 12.
Grambling State shot just 33.3 percent (18 of 54) and allowed MVSU to shoot 45.1 percent (23 of 51) but overcame its poor performance from the field by outscoring the Delta Devils 26-10 at the foul line. Patton scored 13 of his points on free throws.
The Tigers also committed just six turnovers while scoring 15 points off MVSU's 14 giveaways.
